Sunrise
by Kirii
Summary: When Prowl comes to Earth after receiving Optimus' message, he is nearly devastated to hear that Jazz was killed in battle. However, Optimus Prime reveals that he and Ratchet are working to bring Jazz back by using the Allspark. Slash, ProwlxJazz mainly
1. Chapter I

_**Author's Note:**__ Damn bunnies keep multiplying on me before I even get a chapter done on any of my other fanfics. Anyways, this fic is based almost entirely on a dream that I had last night. This is the third fic like that. Oh, gods, the first one sucked in retrospect, but the second is turning out quite well, so I'm hoping that this one turns out well, too. I'm still pretty spazzy with this fandom, so if I get something wrong, feel free to tell me, but be nice about it, please.  
__**Warnings:**__ Slash, possible OOC since I've never written Prowl before. Definitely OOC with Jazz (but it's explained, I promise!).  
__**Disclaimer:**__ But I'm telling you! I __**do**__ own them! Just follow me through this here portal and I'll prove it to you! No! Not the Men in White! Anything but that! Ooh Hug-me jacket!_

Chapter One

"Optimus, we've picked up an unidentified signal within the vicinity of Mission City," Ironhide's voice came from over the link that he and his leader were using to keep in contact.

The weapons specialist and Bumblebee, the young Autobot scout, had been sent on a mission to the city to look for the still unaccounted for Decepticon, Barricade, and had been gone for the last few days. Optimus Prime remained with Ratchet in Tranquility, keeping an eye on young Sam Witwicky, in case other Decepticons might try to get their claws on the boy. Despite the supposed end of the war, Optimus knew that there were other Decepticons out there, waiting for their chance to strike. The Autobot leader had a feeling deep in his circuitry that the war had yet to end for a lot of his kind.

"Track the signal down," Optimus ordered. "Barricade could have scrambled his signal to keep his identity hidden."

"And when we find 'im?" Ironhide asked.

"Hold your fire until you know for sure," his leader replied. He knew that Ironhide was itching to blast a Decepticon, but having sent a message to the stars in search for others, Optimus knew there was a great chance that more Autobots would follow the message's original co-ordinates to Earth. "It wouldn't do to just to blast one of us."

"I gotcha."

Ironhide cut the connection and switched on his holoform so nothing looked suspicious to any humans looking on when he and Bumblebee left the car park where they had been parked. He thought that the hologram he'd programmed for himself was quite fitting for him; a tanned man in his early forties with gray-streaked black hair, a strong physique and just a whisper of facial hair. He was also quite impressed with the image that Bumblebee had programmed. He could just see the blonde teenager with his bright blue eyes and carefree grin sitting in the front seat of the Camaro and rocking out to the music that Bumblebee enjoyed.

Ironhide turned to Bumblebee. "Let's go," he said. "We have our orders."

Bumblebee played a clip of a man speaking before Ironhide cut him off. There was an amused tone in the weapons specialist's voice when he spoke to the younger mech.

"Use your voice," he said. "Ratchet didn't spend days replacing your processor for you to let it gather dust."

"Sorry," Bumblebee replied. "Force of habit."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Ironhide retorted, smirking mentally. "Let's roll out."

With that, he started his engine and began to drive himself out of the car park, Bumblebee just behind him. They spent the next several minutes making their way through afternoon traffic, mingling in with the human-driven vehicles on the road and keeping their sensors on the signal within the city. It would take some time before they found the source, especially if it was Barricade; the Decepticon was good at hiding himself.

"You have co-ordinates from the signal yet, 'Bee?" Ironhide asked over their link.

"Whoever it is, he's not far from here," Bumblebee replied. According to his sensors, the signal was coming from a spot a little over half a mile from their position. "He's not moving. I can only assume he's waiting for us or he's in recharge."

Ironhide was itching to transform and make his way to the signal source, ready to blast a Decepticon into pieces. However, traffic was moving slowly, enough that he was almost worried that the mech they were trailing would start moving and get away from them. Really, he was quickly becoming irritated with human traffic laws. The only thing stopping him from giving into his urges to transform into his true form was the necessity of subtlety for this mission; any wrong move and they would be given away. Of course, the fact that the city was full of people still terrified from the fight several weeks ago also helped to keep him in check.

Traffic finally managed to creep past where the signal was originating. Ironhide led Bumblebee around a corner, into a large construction area. The two of them split up to make a quicker search of the area, Ironhide taking one side and Bumblebee taking the other. Ironhide set up his scanner and began searching through the half-built buildings for the mech the signal was coming from. He knew it was close; very close.

"I've found him," Bumblebee said over the link. "West side."

"Do you recognize him?" Ironhide asked, turning to head to where his fellow Autobot was. "Is he one of ours?"

"I don't recognize him," the scout replied. "I can't tell if he's one of ours, either. He's taken the form of a police cruiser--"

"You're sure it's not Barricade?"

Bumblebee gave an annoyed sigh at being interrupted. "It's not Barricade. The decal's wrong."

"He could have scanned a different--"

"It's not Barricade. Trust me."

Quietly, Ironhide turned the corner until he could also see the police cruiser that Bumblebee said was the source of the signal. He scanned it for any evidence of identification and, upon finding none, signaled for Bumblebee to take guard. Ducking behind the buildings, glad to be out of sight of the humans, both he and Bumblebee transformed. Ironhide readied his cannon, knowing that his partner would be doing the same on the other side of the unidentified mech. He stepped out of his hiding place.

"Identify yourself!" he ordered.

The headlights of the police cruiser flashed as he awoke from the light recharge he had been in. A moment later, it transformed, revealing a twenty-foot tall mech. Blue optics locked onto Ironhide as weapons of his own appeared in his hand. He took a defensive stance, ready to fight his way out if need be.

"Drop your weapon!" Bumblebee shouted, revealing himself. "Drop it and identify!"

The other mech's optics swiveled to look at Bumblebee, then went back to Ironhide before he lowered his gun. "I am designation Prowl, of the Autobot faction."

* * *

Optimus Prime approached the other mechs as they entered the makeshift base that had been set up for them in a large, abandoned warehouse. He put a hand on Prowl's shoulder, pulling his former second-in-command into a brotherly embrace. He felt Prowl return the gesture before pulling away. Optimus' optics locked onto Prowl's as he gave the other mech a small smile. 

"It is good to see you, Prowl," he said.

"I could say the same," Prowl replied. "It's been far too long. It was a relief to us when we received your message."

Optimus looked at his friend questionably. "There are others?"

Prowl shook his head. "Not on Earth. Not quite yet. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were heavily damaged in battle with a rogue Decepticon. I left them with Hoist on one of the outer planets in this solar system. They have orders to make their way here once Hoist has them repaired."

Ratchet let his shoulders slump slightly at the news that the twins were coming to Earth; deep in his circuitry, he cared for the twins like he did for the rest of his fellow Autobots, but their uncanny ability to aggravate him with the greatest of ease made him mask his care for them with undetermined irritation. It had been nice to have such a long break from them after the battle at Tyger Pax. He supposed he had only to prepare himself to deal with them once again when they got to Earth.

"How long have you been on Earth?" Ironhide asked.

Prowl turned to the weapons specialist. "Not long. Perhaps an earth week." The tactician looked around at the other Autobots that had gathered within the warehouse. Of the team he knew Optimus had gathered, he noticed that one in particular was missing. He felt a tug at his spark when he realized who it was. "Optimus, where is Jazz?"

Optimus hesitated, lowering his optics. Of all Prowl's confidants, he knew best what the relationship between Prowl and Jazz had been before the war reached Earth. He knew he had to choose his words carefully when telling the tactician what had happened to the special ops agent.

"Optimus?" Prowl urged. "Tell me where he is."

"Jazz…was lost in the final battle with Megatron," the Autobot leader finally said, voice processor slow and soft.

Prowl's spark clenched from within its casing. His blue optics widened slightly in disbelief at Optimus' words, his processor barely registering the facts that his leader had just presented him with. Jazz, his chosen partner, was lost. Though he hardly wanted to know, a part of him made him ask how the special ops agent had been killed. Optimus relayed the whole story to him, telling Prowl that Jazz died a hero; something that at least put Prowl's spark partially at ease.

Ratchet placed a hand on Prowl's shoulder, hoping that the gesture would bring some comfort to the tactician. Prowl hung his head momentarily before reaching up and sliding Ratchet's hand off. He stepped away from the group of Autobots and headed towards the exit of the warehouse.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I need some time."

With that, Prowl transformed, returning to his vehicle form and driving out of the makeshift Autobot base, just as two young humans entered. Sam Witwicky and his girlfriend, Mikaela Banes, turned their heads to watch the unfamiliar police cruiser turn the corner. Sam blinked and turned to Optimus Prime and the others.

"Who as that?" the young human asked.

Optimus kept his blue gaze on the exit that his trusted friend had left through. He said nothing in response to Sam's question, leaving the teen to exchange confused glances with Mikaela. Bumblebee stepped over and crouched down so that he could be level with the humans and whisper to them.

"That was Prowl," the young scout told them. "Before the Allspark was sent into space, Prowl was Optimus' second-in-command."

"So, where's he going, then?" Mikaela asked. "If he's an Autobot, why isn't he staying here?"

Bumblebee's baby blue optics shifted away for a short moment. "He needs to have some time to himself."

"Why?" Sam asked.

The young mech turned back to his human friend. "Prowl was, to use human terms, Jazz's life-mate."

Both the jaws of Sam and Mikaela dropped. Bumblebee tilted his head at this, not quite understanding the expression. He watched as Sam's mouth opened and closed, with no words coming forth. Mikaela shifted almost uncomfortably where she stood, wrapping her arms around herself and looking away for a moment. Finally, Mikaela looked up at Bumblebee, the uncomfortable expression still very apparent.

"I wasn't aware that giant robots could be…" she hesitated for a second, "y'know…gay?"

Bumblebee's optics were blank for a brief moment, not understanding the term until he cross-referenced it over the connection he had to the humans' world wide web. After a moment, he shook his head and tried to find a way to explain things to the two humans.

"Our kind isn't like yours," he said. "We have no 'sexual preference', as you may call it. To us, it doesn't matter if it's a femme or otherwise; it's about the bond between two sparks."

While Bumblebee was trying to explain the difference between the humans and the Cybertronians to Sam and Mikaela, Optimus Prime pulled Ratchet aside, out of range of the others. He spoke softly to the medic, keeping the volume of his vocal processor low.

"How are you coming along with the re-ignition?" he asked.

"I'm still welding him together," Ratchet replied. "It will take another day or so to completely rebuild him. His circuits were severely damaged when Megatron tore him apart. After that, we'll have to see how the Allspark is doing."

Optimus looked back at the others before turning back to Ratchet. "Are you sure that it will work?"

"I can't be positive," Ratchet told him. "The Allspark, by all means, should have been destroyed when Sam used it to send Megatron's spark into overdrive. The fact that it's rebuilding itself doesn't mean that it's as stable as it once was." He glanced at the corner where he'd been working the last several weeks, hidden in behind walls that guarded the secret within. "There's a chance that it will work, but there is also the chance that it won't. Even if it does work, the Allspark may leak too much power and completely overload him."

Optimus thought on this for a long moment. He had been the one to suggest the whole thing in the first place, but he was having second thoughts; especially with Prowl's arrival. With such risks, did he want to try to bring Jazz back, only to have him overload completely? Was it worth getting everyone's hopes up, especially those of Prowl, the tactician who so loved the special ops agent? He looked at Ratchet.

"What do you think?" he asked, voicing his thoughts. "Is it worth all these risks to bring Jazz back to us?"

Ratchet once again looked over to the walled office where Jazz's prone body laid. His blue gaze turned towards where Prowl had left the warehouse before he looked back at Optimus Prime. He was silent for a moment, then slowly, he nodded.

"I believe so," he said. He gave a rather bemused sigh. "It's decisions like this that I almost wish that Wheeljack was still alive to bother us with his silly inventions, in hopes of find a way to harness the unstable power of the Allspark."

Optimus gave a light laugh; it seemed a bit awkward, with Wheeljack's death being one of the most recent from Tyger Pax, but he could honestly say that he was a bit amused by Ratchet's words. He put a hand on the medic's shoulder.

"I trust that you'll be able to do it," he said.

Ratchet nodded. "Thank you. Now then, Optimus. Are you going to go check up on Prowl?"

Optimus gave a nod of his own. "Yes," he said. "And I will tell him what we're doing. Even with all the risks, he, at least, should be told of our plan to re-ignite Jazz's spark."

"I should get back to work then, if that's the case," the medic-bot told his leader. He stepped away from Optimus and turned to head to his workspace.

Optimus headed towards the exit of the warehouse, walking past Bumblebee, who was awkwardly trying to explain to Sam and Mikaela what a spark-bond was, and transforming into his vehicular mode. Once he was fully transformed, he followed Prowl's signal to the isolated ridge north of Tranquility, where many of them often gathered. Prowl sat by the tree where Sam often had Bumblebee park when he and Mikaela wanted to watch the sunset from their favorite spot on the ridge.

The tactician was silent, blue optics focused on the landscape before him. It was late afternoon and the warmth of the day was at its peak, warming his armor as he sat. As he felt Optimus approach, Prowl shuttered his optics and taking intake of Earth's air, feeling it as the air traveled through his body, over valves and cables, cooling them for the briefest of moments. His head hung slightly as his auditory sensors picked up Optimus' transformation back to his true form.

"I never felt his spark fade," Prowl said, vocal processor emitting the words softly. "Even though we were close, we never fully bonded before Tyger Pax." His metal fingers curled into a fist, arm resting on a bent leg. "It's so hard to know he's gone."

Optimus stepped forward so that he was standing next to Prowl. He placed a hand on the other mech's shoulder. He knew what it was like to lose someone so close; he had also lost someone close to him in the war. He didn't say anything to Prowl just yet, letting the other mech have a few more moments of silence. He watched as Prowl lifted his head and let the shutters over his optics raise so he could see Earth's sky.

"I never even said good-bye to him," Prowl said. He didn't know why he was saying so; he rarely ever let anyone see this side of him. In fact, most of the Autobots would never guess that Prowl had another side to him. A small sigh escaped his vocals. "I wanted so much to see him when I followed your signal, Prime."

Optimus figured this was as good a time as any to bring up the project that he and Ratchet had been working on. "You may yet be able to."

Prowl turned then. One optic ridge was raised in question at his leader's words. Optimus, encouraged, continued.

"During the last battle, we thought that the Allspark was destroyed when it was shoved into Megatron's spark," he explained. "However, the piece I recovered has been rebuilding itself over the last several weeks. Its power has remained dormant for some time, but I can feel it awakening."

"How can that be?" Prowl asked. "There is no evidence that--"

"Few know the true power and properties of the Allspark," the other mech replied. "Even as the ruler of Cybertron, I knew little of the Allspark. That knowledge was held by Megatron, as Lord High Protector. Somehow, I doubt that even he knew its full potential."

Prowl furrowed his brow. He said nothing, so Optimus once again continued his explanation.

"Ratchet has been working to rebuild Jazz's body for weeks. He believes that in a day or so, he will be ready to attempt to re-ignite Jazz's spark using the remnants of the Allspark."

Prowl's spark brightened within its casing for a brief moment. "Will it work?"

"The Allspark's power, we predict, will be unstable," Optimus told him. "If we can find a way to harness it, it should work."

"Logically…" Prowl began. He stopped himself before he could finish his sentence. He'd followed logic for most of his life, embracing it as part of his job as a tactician. However, with Jazz, all logic was sent flying out the figurative window. It was the same now as if he were with Jazz. Here he was, given a change to see his lost mate again and it was only logic that stood in his way.

"Prowl?"

The tactician looked up at Optimus Prime. "How soon until the Allspark awakens?"

_**

* * *

Author's Note:**__ And thus ends the first chapter. I've read rumors that Jazz is going to be brought back in the second Transformers movie, so I'm working with the rumors for this fanfic. I'm going to be going more in-depth with the whole deal with the Allspark that I've got going on in later chapters; mostly this one just sets up the main story. Let me know what y'all think, because I live on feedback. And ramen._


	2. Chapter II

_**Author's Note:**__ Alright, alright. I know I told many of you that I'd update this last week, but you know, crap comes up and all of a sudden Kiaran needs to pretend to be social for an entire weekend before school and work try to kill her. I got it done as soon as possible, though. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter; I am so surprised that y'all like this. Again, thank you so much!  
__**Warnings:**__ Same as before. Nothing's changed yet.  
__**Disclaimer:**__ I once tried to own them and failed. I'm yet again on the island of cannibalistic lesbians, awaiting the next boat of boy scouts.  
__**Note:**__ Just so you all know, from this point on, bold text will indicate the Cybertronian language. I may not use it a lot, but you'll know when I do. Plain text, of course, is English. _

Chapter Two

It was pitch black outside of the warehouse and barely lit within it. Only the soft glow of a pair of bright blue optics lit the large building. While the other Autobots were deep in recharge, one carefully crept across the warehouse to where the make-shift medical bay was located. Easing through the entrance, Prowl silently went over to where Jazz's off-lined body laid, his optics locked on the still form. His spark ached at the sight.

Jazz, who had always been so full of life, much like a youngling in a sense, lay cold, unmoving, visor tucked over his optics, guarding them even then. So few had ever seen the special ops agent with his visor up, seen the soft blue optics that sparkled with confidence. Prowl had been one of the few, as Jazz's chosen mate. It was so hard now to look upon the other.

Prowl's fingers ran over Jazz's face, slowly feeling the cold metal, following every dip and curve. Carefully, he lifted the visor from his mate's optics, knowing that he wouldn't see the soft blue glow, but wanting to see the other's optics anyways.

"Jazz," Prowl murmured. His head hung, optics shuttering. "I never thought that it would end up like this. We won this battle, but…I lost you."

His hand slipped down, over the place where Jazz's spark lay cold and dark. After the brief discussion with Optimus Prime and Ratchet, Prowl knew the dangers of re-igniting a spark; one of two things could happen. Jazz would either be restored fully, with all his memories intact, or he would awaken with no memory whatsoever. The second option was the one that Prowl feared. It was like wiping a computer; nothing would be there to prove its past. If it happened to Jazz, then the special ops agent wouldn't remember anything of his life previous, including the relationship he'd had with Prowl.

The tactician's hand balled into a fist. If re-igniting Jazz's spark resulted with a wipe, what would be the purpose? To regain the saboteur just to lose him again in another sense would be hardest on Prowl. Though not fully bonded to the other, Prowl was still deeply connected to him. It had been hard on him to be separated from Jazz after Tyger Pax, near devastating when he'd received word on his mate's death. He'd lost part of himself when he'd first heard; he didn't want to think what he'd lose if Jazz were to be wiped upon re-ignition.

After a long minute, Prowl carefully sat on the medic table where Jazz laid. He pulled the other's hand into his, entwining their fingers lightly. He was silent for a long while, barely content to be near his mate's body. Lifting his mate's cold hand to his face, he let himself nuzzle gently at it.

"I want you back," he whispered, voice just barely audible.

* * *

Ratchet had kicked Prowl out of the med bay the morning after and had forbidden him to re-enter while he was working on Jazz. If there was one thing he didn't need while he was working, it was a spark-broken tactician hovering about. Luckily for Ratchet, Optimus Prime eventually sent Prowl out with Bumblebee to continue the search for Barricade. The Autobots were hoping to bring the Decepticon in and hold him captive for questioning; perhaps they could find out where Starscream had gone off to.

"You're sure that he's hiding in the city?" Prowl asked over the link he had with Bumblebee as he and the scout made their way towards Mission City. It was a long drive from Tranquility and conversation was really the only way to pass the time.

"Relatively," Bumblebee replied. "The last I saw of him was on the highway on our way from the dam."

"You realize he could have easily left the city?"

"It's a possibility," the younger mech said. "Optimus still wants a full sweep of the city. It's big enough that one Decepticon can stay hidden for a good long while."

Prowl gave a sigh. His mind just wasn't on the mission. Bumblebee picked up on this and signaled to turn off the road, telling Prowl to follow him over their link. Curious to what the young scout was doing, the tactician did so, making his way across a lane of traffic to follow Bumblebee into a rest stop.

The rest stop was bustling with travelers, so both Autobots switched on their holoforms so as not to cause a scene; humans were so easily startled to see a car drive past with no one inside. Bumblebee parked in front of the covered courtyard and projected his holoform getting out and walking around for a moment. He'd studied Sam's behavior and was confident that his holoform could be easily accepted in a crowd. Prowl's own holoform, a young man in his late-twenties with white-blond hair, still had a few glitches, but was easily overlooked.

While the two mechs had their holoforms interact to keep the humans from guessing that anything strange was amongst them, Bumblebee hailed Prowl over their communication line.

"Is something wrong?"

Prowl was silent for a moment. At first, he didn't intend to tell the other anything, but he knew that the younger mech was only trying to make sure he was okay. "I just…keep thinking about Jazz," he admitted finally.

"You miss him," Bumblebee said.

"Yes."

"Optimus told you what he and Ratchet are doing, right?"

Prowl blinked. "He told you?" He was sure that the others hadn't yet been told.

"It was really my idea," Bumblebee told him. "When Optimus told us that the Allspark was rebuilding itself, he suggested we try to create a new spark with it. It was my idea to try to re-ignite Jazz's spark."

The older mech was silent for a long minute in response to that. Bumblebee waited for Prowl to say something, then spoke up again when he didn't.

"They'll bring him back to us," he said, the confidence he had in Optimus Prime and Ratchet evident in his words. "If anyone can do it, it's Ratchet and Optimus."

Prowl would have nodded, if he were in his true form. As it was, he was still in the form of a police cruiser, so he gave a small thank you to the young scout over the link they shared. Bumblebee had his holoform give Prowl's a smile before returning it to the driver's seat of his vehicle form. He waited for Prowl to leave the rest stop before following him, so it wouldn't look too suspicious to the humans around them. Once they were both back on the highway, they made their way to Mission City.

* * *

Going at a steady sixty miles an hour, it still took them most of the day to get to the city. Night had fallen by the time they reached the city limits. Prowl devised a plan to make the most of the night, having Bumblebee take one side of the city while he patrolled the other in search of the missing Decepticon. He kept the communication line open in case Bumblebee hailed him with results, but for the most part, few words were passed between them. Which was exactly how Prowl liked to work.

The search for Barricade, though one he was half-sure would result in the negative, kept his mind occupied. Though his spark yet mourned for Jazz, his mind was focused only on the image of the Decepticon's disguise that Bumblebee had projected for him that morning before they left Tranquility. Searching was somewhat therapeutic, keeping him from going insane with loss as he drove up and down streets. He kept his sensors on; waiting to pick up any signal that didn't belong to the young scout he was working with. Optimus had suggested that Barricade may have scrambled his signal or perhaps even blocked it from any sensors they had locked on finding his position.

A sudden flash of light went over the city as Prowl reached a large, abandoned alleyway. He backed into it and transformed, looking up to see three large comets streak through Earth's sky. His sensors picked up the individual signals coming from the comets and relief flooded his body when he found they were Autobot signals. Bumblebee's voice reached him through the communication line.

"That's Sunstreaker and Sideswipe!" the young bot chirped. "Hoist is with them!"

"Yes," Prowl replied, knowing full-well who they were. Bumblebee's excitement was understandable; Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had been his favorite sitters when he was youngling. He hailed Hoist over a communication line and gave him co-ordinates to a spot where they could meet without the humans of the city seeing them. Then he told Bumblebee to meet up with him there as well.

Transforming back into his vehicle form, Prowl left the alleyway to head towards the location he'd specified to Hoist and Bumblebee. The twins were sure to get the co-ordinates from Hoist and would meet up with them as well. Once all five of them had gathered, Prowl would make sure that the other three were briefed on the current situation, as he had been. Then he'd give them the co-ordinates to the makeshift base in Tranquility so they could report back to Optimus Prime.

Traffic was almost non-existent at this hour, so Prowl and Bumblebee both made good time to the arranged rendezvous point. The spot was a large park, surrounded by a good amount of tall pine trees, enough to hide a group of giant robots from the people in the city. Thankfully, it was also very much abandoned in the late-night hours, giving Prowl and Bumblebee the perfect place to transform to their true forms without having to worry about being seen. Bumblebee could barely stand still, dancing slightly to a tune he played on his internal radio. This would be the first time he'd seen the twins since the battle at Tyger Pax and he very much looked forward to seeing them again.

It was only a short time before three vehicles came into the park; a dark green Toyota and two Lamborghini Gallardos, one red and the other a shocking yellow. The vehicles shifted, parts scrambling around to find a new position as Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and Hoist transformed into their true forms. A happy chirrup escaped Bumblebee as he looked upon the older mechs.

**"Is that our little Bumblebee?"** Sideswipe asked, blue optics looking over the small yellow mech in front of him.

**"It's me,"** Bumblebee replied, giving an electronic chirp.

**"No way,"** Sunstreaker said. **"You can't possibly be our little 'Bee."**

Sideswipe approached Bumblebee and put his hand on his shoulder. **"You're too tall to be our 'Bee."**

Bumblebee would have stuck his tongue out at the older mech, had he a tongue to do so with. He'd seen Sam make the childish gesture at another of the boys at school and learned that it could be a gesture of dislike or a playful one. Whichever it was, it would have been quite appropriate in this situation.

**"I've grown,"** he said in his defense. Which was very much true; his body had stretched to his full height of sixteen feet tall over the last ten thousand years since Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had last seen him, at Tyger Pax.

Sunstreaker gave a mechanical grin.** "Alright, alright,"** he concurred. **"I see Ratchet finally got you to hold still long enough to fix your vocals."**

Bumblebee nodded and was about to say something when Prowl stepped in. The tactician demanded the attention of the three newcomers and began relaying everything that he'd been told about the current situation. He left out the details about the regeneration of the Allspark, deciding to leave that to Optimus Prime. Once they had been briefed on the situation, Prowl turned back to Bumblebee.

"I'm certain that Barricade is not hiding in the city," he told him. "Between the sweep we made of the city tonight and the fact that I never once picked up his signal during the time I spent here, there is no evidence that he had remained in the area."

Bumblebee nodded. He'd merely been following orders that Optimus had given as a precaution; he was certain himself that the Decepticon was not in the city. There was nothing at all to suggest that Barricade had even stayed on Earth after the fall of Megatron. The young scout had a feeling that the other mech was still around, though. He couldn't explain it, so he never brought it up. Of course, there was always the chance that the feeling he had was important, but it was just a feeling; nothing to bother the others with.

"Shall we return to Tranquility, then?" he asked Prowl.

The tactician gave a short nod. "Yes. We should report back and lead these three to the base."

Bumblebee gave a nod of his own and transformed into his vehicle mode. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe gave the little Camaro a good look over and gave approving whirls before they transformed back into the Gallardos they'd picked for their disguises. Sunstreaker revved his engine and pulled up next to Bumblebee, nudging him gently with his front bumper.

**"Looking good, youngling,"** he told the younger mech over a communication line.

Bumblebee practically glowed with pride. Somehow, he'd known that Sunstreaker would approve of this form. His first Earth form, the 1977 Camaro, had been such a rushed choice; he'd just scanned the first car he could so he could get around to find the Allspark and coincidentally, the Witwicky family. After Mikaela had questioned his first choice, he'd gone through and scanned a newer Camaro concept model that had gone by. He knew he looked stylish when Mikaela had praised him and later received the same praise from Jazz.

Prowl was the last of the group to transform into his vehicle mode. He opened a communication line to the other four and told them all to head out, indicating for Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Hoist to follow him and Bumblebee. By his speculations, they would arrive in Tranquility just in time for Bumblebee to take Sam and Mikaela to school in the morning, which was a relief to the young mech; Judy Witwicky had lectured him for an hour the last time he'd gone on a mission for Optimus and hadn't gotten home in time to help Sam get to school. He shuddered at the thought of having to go through that again.

The group of Autobots pulled out of the park and onto the highway, heading in the direction of the town of Tranquility. As they left the vicinity of Mission City, none of them picked up the two faint signals that were coming from the sky above.

**

* * *

"What in the Pit do you want?"** Barricade snarled over the long-distance communication line. 

**"Where is Frenzy?"** the other Decepticon demanded on the other end. The mech's vocal processor projected the words rather monotonously, with no hint of personality in them whatsoever. That was one of the distinctive characteristics of the communications officer, Soundwave.

**"Dead,"** was Barricade's short and quite bitter response.

A second voice joined Soundwave's over the communication line. **"What do you mean, dead?"**

Barricade gave an exasperated sigh and let his body lower on his tires as he watched traffic go by. **"Off-lined. I do not have the details, only what I could get from the humans' conversations after the entire ordeal. From what I've heard, one of his discs ricocheted and cut off his head."**

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communications line before Barricade heard Rumble's distinctive laughter. The hunter Decepticon gave a growl at the mini-con's laughter, irritated that Rumble, his partner's own brother, would take Frenzy's death with such ease and ridicule. Frenzy had been quite close to Barricade; not in what humans would dub a romantic sense, but more in that Frenzy was one of the few that he trusted.

**"Well, that's Frenzy for you,"** Rumble joked. He calmed down a moment later and continued. **"What's your position, Barricade?"**

The Saleen sent a series of coordinates to the mini-con via their link.** "I have taken up a position in the human city of Reno. The Allspark has been lost. Megatron is destroyed."**

Soundwave was silent for a long minute while Rumble let out a series of indistinguishable clicks and whirls. Barricade rolled back on his tires, irritated with the loss of his leader and his comrades. He'd spent the last several weeks traveling as far from Tranquility as he could, trying to devise a way to get back at the Autobots and their pet humans. As the sole Decepticon in the area, Barricade couldn't do much against the Autobots. If he could get Soundwave to send a signal to the other Decepticons, they could gather to strike.

**"Barricade, is there something wrong with your sensors?"** Rumble suddenly asked.

Barricade snapped to attention. The fact that Rumble had asked meant there was something he missed. **"My sensors are fine."**

There was more silence on the other end of the communication line. After a moment, Barricade questioned why Rumble had brought up the inquiry on his sensors. Rumble gave low electronic gurgle. Had Barricade been in his true form, he would have raised an optic ridge in confusion.

**"I sense the Allspark,"** Soundwave told him.

* * *

Almost a week had passed since the arrival of Hoist and the twins. Ratchet spent most of this week holed up in his med bay, avoiding all contact with the twins (who had gotten it in their processors to pick up where they'd left off in Operation Aggravation) and working diligently to finish his work on rebuilding Jazz. Though the welding was complete, there were still a few check-ups he needed to do to make sure that the special ops agent would be fully functional when they brought him back online.

He was in the midst of doing one of these check-ups when Optimus Prime came into the med bay with the Allspark in hand. The Autobot leader approached Ratchet and looked down on the make-shift berth that Jazz lay upon. Save for the glowing spark that indicated life, Jazz looked as he did before Megatron brutally tore him in half.

"I just need to hook his secondary fuel line in place and make one last check of his vital cables," Ratchet said softly. "Other than that, we can begin the re-ignition any time." He pulled away from where he'd been hunched over Jazz's still form and looked at Optimus Prime. "Is the Allspark ready?"

Optimus held up the Cube. A soft blue light was emanating from the pictographs carved into its sides. Though it was only a little more than half of what it once was, the energy levels were nearing the same. Ratchet reached for it and gently took it into his hands. He scanned it carefully, taking in its status and making calculations in his head, checking to make sure that it was safe and ready to start re-ignition.

"You should get Prowl," Ratchet told his leader. "He'll want to be there when Jazz comes online."

Optimus nodded. "How long until preparations are complete?"

Ratchet gave a mechanical hum in thought. "We can begin this evening."

With another nod, Optimus turned and left the med bay. He walked past Ironhide and Hoist, heading towards the entrance of the warehouse. He transformed as he reached the large doorway and left the base, following Prowl's signal into Tranquility. The tactician had left the base several hours ago to observe the humans so he could better blend in. He'd insisted that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe do the same, but according to the signals on Optimus' sensor, the twins were off doing their own thing.

It didn't take long for him to get to where his friend was sitting in a grocery store parking lot, watching the humans of the city walk by. The tactician's holoform sat in the driver's seat of his vehicle form, a cup of coffee in hand, blue eyes following a group of teenagers as they walked past, chatting loudly. Optimus rolled into the parking lot and parked near Prowl. He opened a communication line and called for the tactician's attention.

"How are you doing?" he asked as way of greeting.

Prowl gave a soft hum. "These humans are not so different from us," he said, completely avoiding the question, not wanting to talk about himself. "They act, feel, and live much like we do."

Optimus chuckled softly at the way Prowl avoided talking of his situation. "They _are_ much like us," he agreed. "That's not, however, what I asked."

"I'm as well as one could be, given the circumstances," Prowl told him, the tone of his voice letting Optimus know that he wasn't going to elaborate.

"I see."

Prowl went back to watching the humans, this time, keeping his optics on a group inside of a café across the street. He didn't say anything, nor did Optimus Prime. The two mechs sat in the parking lot for a few long minutes in silence. Finally, Optimus decided that there'd been enough silence between them.

"You should return to the base," he said. "Ratchet's started preparations to re-ignite Jazz's spark. We're going to begin the process tonight."

Prowl felt his own spark flare lightly at the thought of seeing Jazz again. Beneath the hope he had for seeing his mate, there was still the fear that Jazz wouldn't be the same after the re-ignition. The chances that Jazz's systems would be wiped were quite large; too much so for Prowl to be comfortable.

Optimus picked up on the fear that Prowl was feeling; though the tactician was always careful to keep his emotions in check, Optimus had known him for such a long time that he was able to sense when his friend was feeling uneasy. "Prowl," he said. "It will be all right."

Prowl started his engine, revving it once as it came to life. "I hope so."

* * *

That evening, Ratchet, Prowl, and Optimus Prime gathered in the med bay. It would have been a tight fit, had they not expanded the med bay a couple days ago. Prowl stood by his mate's prone body while Ratchet and Optimus stood on the other side of the berth. Optimus held the Allspark in his hands, cradling it gently in his large fingers while Ratchet finished setting up the equipment he needed to keep the Allspark stable during the re-ignition process. Prowl's gaze shifted almost nervously from Jazz's body to the Allspark and then to the equipment that Ratchet was setting up.

"You're sure that will keep it stable?" he asked.

Ratchet gave a nod. "I'm not an expert on the Allspark, but that doesn't mean I don't know a thing or two about it. This device will hold long enough to harness the Allspark's power and stabilize it so that we can use it to bring Jazz back."

Optimus turned to Prowl. "Do not worry, old friend. Ratchet knows what he is doing."

"Yes, I know," Prowl said, giving a light nod. He was just…nervous.

Ratchet finished setting the equipment up and stood back. "There. That ought to do the trick." He turned back to Jazz's body and carefully pried the saboteur's chassis open to reveal the dulled spark inside. "Prowl, please step back. Optimus, if you would activate the Allspark."

Optimus nodded, letting his fingers caress the symbols on the Cube as Prowl took a couple steps back. All three of them watched as the Allspark began to give off a soft blue glow. Optimus set it down on the pad that Ratchet had designated earlier, during preparations. The energy from the Allspark flowed into the pad, which directed it into the equipment that Ratchet had standing at the ready. Once the energy had been gathered into it, Ratchet stepped forward and aimed the head of the laser attached to the device at Jazz's chassis.

"All right," he said, calmly. "It's time."

That said, he hit the activation for the laser and a stream of blue energy shot out of the laser and to the spark that lay cold and dark within Jazz's body. There was a short pulse of light before the spark began to glow. Prowl stepped forward and nearly reached to take the saboteur's hand in his, but he refrained. He'd been warned earlier not to get too close, in case something went wrong with the procedure; though Ratchet had been adamant that everything would be fine. He opted to stand as close as he could, optics focused on his mate's spark.

Ratchet switched the laser off and stepped forward to examine the results. Jazz's spark was glowing softly, life restored to it by the energy of the Allspark. He could see through his sensors that the heat from the saboteur's spark was emanating throughout his body, waking the systems within the smaller mech. One by one, he watched Jazz's systems come online and within moments, Jazz's optics opened their shutters, lit once again with the soft blue light.

"Welcome back, Jazz," Ratchet said, a wave of relief flowing through his body.

Jazz sat up slowly, the metal of his body creaking softly from having been still for so long. He looked up at Ratchet. "Thanks."

Prowl's spark was pulsating quickly, the heat from it filling his body at the sight of his beloved alive. He stepped forward, reaching out and putting a white hand on Jazz's shoulder. "How do you feel?"

Jazz shifted, working his musculature into functionality. "A little stiff, but I'm sure you guys can explain that to me."

Prowl gave an almost invisible smile. "It's good to have you back."

"Yeah," the special ops agent said. Then he looked at Prowl, Optimus Prime and Ratchet in succession. "Now, just who are you guys?"

_**

* * *

Author's Note:**__ I'm sorry, Prowl! It ain't gonna be that easy for you! Because you know that I'm evil and stuff. Alright. Anyways. The next chapter will, hopefully, be posted on time, since this one was a week late. Please be certain to review and tell me what you think!_


	3. Chapter III

_**Author's Note:**__ Yeah, okay. I'm officially at a loss for what to say. I love you guys. Seriously. Anyways, hope the change of penname doesn't bother anyone too badly. My old one was just too much of a mouthful, so I changed it to my nickname.  
__**Warnings:**__ Plot. Stuff. Probable butchering of Ironhide because I can't write him to save my life. Unless you guys think I did okay. Oo  
__**Disclaimer:**__ I wished once upon a star that shone way up high and far. To that star did I say, "Send the rights to me this day?" And said that shining star in the blue: "Fuck you."_

Chapter Three

"So, you guys brought Jazz back to life with the remaining piece of the Allspark that has been lying dormant for the last two and a half months, but his processor has been completely wiped?" Mikaela asked, raising a dark eyebrow.

"That's what I said," Bumblebee replied.

The scout had just picked up Sam and Mikaela from school. It was the day after Jazz's revival and he'd only just found out about the situation a few hours ago; Optimus Prime had addressed the remaining Autobots about Jazz's revival that morning, with Ratchet explaining what had happened during the process. At first, Bumblebee, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe had been excited to hear that their friend was back, but that excitement had quickly turned to dismay when Optimus told them that Jazz's memory had been wiped.

Everyone was dealing with this differently. As expected, Prowl was the one taking it hardest. While Bumblebee and the twins were all hurt by Jazz's wipe, their pain was nothing compared to what Prowl was undoubtedly feeling. While he didn't show any of the others, they all knew that he'd been hit hard by the reality that Jazz didn't remember him.

"That must really suck," Mikaela said, softly. She was quiet for a long moment. "Poor Prowl."

"He must be devastated," Sam muttered. Admittedly, he was still feeling a bit awkward from finding out that giant transforming alien robots could be gay. Not that he'd say there was anything wrong with it; it was just weird.

"Not that you'll see," Bumblebee replied. He signaled to turn off the main road and down the street that led to Sam's house. "Prowl doesn't really show anyone his emotions. Only the mechs that he trusts above anyone else every get to see past the mask he wears."

"Why is that?" Mikaela asked.

Bumblebee pulled into the Witwicky driveway and shut off his engine. "When you've been at war as long as we have, emotions become your greatest weakness. Prowl lives by that ideal. It takes forever to break through a mask like that."

Mikaela sat back in her seat. "And now one who had broken through the mask has no clue about their past relationship."

Sam hefted a sigh. "Isn't there anything that you guys can do to help Jazz remember?"

Bumblebee thought for a moment. "We're trying to help him remember things already. His memory banks weren't completely wiped, so that's a bit of an advantage. He remembers who he is and the war. The big details of his life, really. He's just having trouble with everything else."

"Does he at least remember that he's an Autobot?" Sam asked.

"Yes, thankfully. It makes everything just that much easier."

Both Mikaela and Sam were quiet for a long moment. Sam opened the door on his side and got out, offering his hand to his girlfriend to help her out as well. Then he turned to Bumblebee and patted the Autobot's hood.

"If there's anything that any of us can do, let us know," he told his friend. "That means _any_ of us. I'm sure Maggie, Glen, and the others would be glad to help."

Bumblebee gave a soft whirr of thanks. He switched on his holoform, which gave Sam and Mikaela a wide grin and a wink. A chuckle escaped him at the jump Mikaela gave at the sight of the holoform; though she'd seen it plenty of times when Bumblebee had to go to the makeshift base, it gave her a start every time it just appeared out of nowhere.

"You know, you should really warn a girl when you turn that thing on," she chided him, placing her hand on her chest. "God, give me a coronary."

Bumblebee laughed again. "Sorry."

Of course, Mikaela could tell from the tone of the Autobot's voice that he wasn't sorry, just amused. She gave him a playful whack, smiling as she did so. It was hard to be mad at Bumblebee. "You'd better get going, buster. You'll be late and you know even Optimus can get irritated with tardiness."

"I'm going, I'm going," Bumblebee said, starting his engine and revving it. He began to pull back out of the driveway before he stopped. "Oh, yeah. Optimus says I can have the weekend off from missions. Did you two want to go to the lake?"

Sam and Mikaela exchanged smiles. The lake had become one of their favorite spots since they got together.

"Definitely," Mikaela smiled.

"That'd be great," Sam added.

Bumblebee revved his engine again. "Alright! I'll be back tonight, Sam. Tell your parents not to wait up."

Sam laughed. "Don't worry. Mom and Dad are going out to dinner tonight and I doubt they'll be back before you."

Bumblebee gave one of his clicking noises in acknowledgement before pulling out again. Sam and Mikaela waved him off before heading into the house for a little time together.

* * *

Ironhide had been parked outside the Lennox house when he'd the news from Optimus Prime. At first, he'd been rather confused that the Allspark had regenerated; after all, last he'd heard, it was destroyed when Sam pushed it into Megatron's spark. Barely a breem after he'd been told of the Allspark's regeneration, he'd felt a brief pull at his own spark. Perhaps with the Allspark regenerating, they could return to Cybertron and restore it after all. He could search for Chromia and… 

Of course, Optimus had interrupted his train of thought there with news that Jazz had been brought back. That had surprised the weapon's specialist. He'd been told by Ratchet that it was impossible to save him. Then again, at the time, they hadn't known the Allspark was able to regenerate in the first place. Ironhide knew that Ratchet was what humans would call a miracle worker when it came to rebuilding one of their own; he'd seen it happen more than once with some of the older troops. However, even Ratchet had his limits and those had been reached when Jazz had been torn in two.

When Optimus informed him that Jazz's systems had been wiped upon re-ignition, Ironhide went quiet for a long moment. That had been unexpected and, while Ironhide would never admit it, Jazz had been a good comrade…friend, really. Over the last few decades since the battle at Tyger Pax, Jazz had gained a lot of responsibility; as compared to the pranking wise-aft he'd been before everything got so bad. Sure, he'd still retained a lot of that personality, even after Tyger Pax, but he'd become more serious as well. Ironhide knew that Jazz had always been serious about his job, but that added seriousness had gained the saboteur extra respect from Ironhide.

Now, that Jazz was gone.

Ever since he heard the news, Ironhide had been sitting in the Lennox driveway, body low on his tires. Anyone that looked at him, that knew the truth about him, would have immediately known that something was up. Of course, Will and Sarah were the only ones that knew the truth about him; everyone else just saw the black GMC truck disguise that he'd assumed when he came to Earth. If anyone but Will and his wife saw him, they'd just assume that maybe his tires were a bit flat.

"Alright, Ironhide," Sarah's voice reached his audio receptors from the front door of the house. "What's on your mind?"

Ironhide, parked so he was able to see the house, shifted his optics as much as he could in his vehicle form. He watched as Sarah walked down the narrow pathway that led from the front door to the drive way until she stood next to him. The blonde woman placed her hand gently on his front; a gesture that was supposed to be comforting, he assumed. He gave a low, rumbling sigh.

"Where's Annabelle?" he asked.

Sarah gave a light frown. "Will's tucking her in for an afternoon nap. You haven't answered my question."

Despite Ironhide's gruffness, the weapons specialist had a weak spot for younglings, mech or human. He supposed it was from being with Chromia for so long before the war. His mate, like all femmes, had been extremely protective and mothering to a number of younglings before the Youth Sectors had been destroyed. Ironhide's weakness for younglings had been what made him come to adore the infant Annabelle. Really, what he wouldn't give to have the infant crawling around on his seats. It would at least be comforting.

"Ironhide?" Sarah pressed. "Come on, you can tell me."

"It's just some stuff that's come up," the mech replied.

Sarah and Ironhide both glanced towards the house when they heard the door open and then shut once again. Will stepped down the path, a bright pink baby monitor hooked to his blue jeans. The Army captain joined his wife standing next to Ironhide, one hand on his hip and the other around Sarah's waist.

"It can't just be 'some stuff'," Will said, having heard what Ironhide had told Sarah. "Something so simple wouldn't bother you."

Ironhide would have given a grin at Will, had he been in his mech form and had the faceplates to do so. The human was perceptive and, over the last couple of months since the battle at Mission City, had become quite adept at figuring Ironhide's personality and moods. He had to give humans some credit; they were actually quite a bit more intelligent than he and the other Autobots had first thought upon arrival to Earth.

"It's Jazz," Ironhide finally said. "The Allspark has been regenerating for a few weeks and Ratchet used its energy last night to re-ignite Jazz's spark."

"Well, that's good news then," Will told him. He'd liked Jazz, from the short time that he'd known the Autobot saboteur. The fact that the Allspark had rebuilt itself and had been used to bring Jazz back sounded like it should be good news and nothing to make Ironhide upset.

"Yes, but with the good news comes the bad," Ironhide replied. "Jazz's systems were wiped."

"Wiped?" Sarah asked, confused. "Like a computer wiped of its memory?"

"Similar," the mech said. "I'm not the best to explain it. My expertise is with weapons, not mech function. Ratchet would be better."

"Hey, I'm sorry," Will said, reaching out and patting Ironhide's passenger-side door. "It must be hard regaining a comrade just to lose him in another sense." He'd never had to go through something like that; he'd seen a good number of casualties while serving his country, all considering the complete devastation of the SOCCENT base at the hands of the Decepticon, Blackout. Of course, none of these casualties ever came back. That never happened with humans.

"I'm sure the others are doing all they can to help Jazz remember," Sarah told Ironhide, trying to be as comforting as she could in a situation she didn't quite understand.

Ironhide was quiet for a long moment. He thought back on the day he and Bumblebee had found Prowl in Mission City. He remembered how much pain he'd seen in his old comrade's optics when Prowl had been told of Jazz's death. That pain he'd seen had reflected Ironhide's own pain when he'd heard of the destruction of the Youth Sectors, and possibly his own mate's death along with it. His spark gave a tug at the possibility of Chromia being dead and that tug made him think of what Prowl was probably going through at the moment.

"Prowl's probably going mad with pain right now," he muttered aloud.

Will and Sarah both blinked. "Prowl?"

"Jazz's life-mate."

* * *

Prowl had been keeping himself busy for the last several hours since Jazz had been revived, refusing to go into recharge until he was near to collapsing and Optimus Prime had ordered him to recharge on one of the makeshift berths. He could barely make it to the berth before he fell into a troubled, but very much needed, rest. Even in recharge, he could still feel his spark ache. It hurt more now than when he'd heard of Jazz's death. Yes, his mate was alive, but it was as if nothing had ever been between them; because their sparks had not been bonded to one another, Jazz couldn't feel anything connecting them. 

It had been a devastating blow to Prowl when Jazz had looked right at him and asked who he was. The fear he had that Jazz would not remember had been realized and it felt worse than he'd predicted. There was an emptiness inside him; one that had been filled once by Jazz's love for him and that emptiness was eating him, like a virus that was spreading throughout his body. He could feel it even in unconsciousness…and he hated it.

He spent most of his time on the berth drifting in and out of his recharge state. His processor simply wouldn't let him rest; images of Jazz before running through it, reminding him painfully of times the two of them had spent together. It was driving him crazy and, after a good hour, Prowl got up and forced himself back to work. It was the only thing that could keep him from thinking about his mate.

He was working diligently on designs for the new base when Optimus Prime came over to him, concern showing in his optics. The Autobot leader gave a sigh before shaking his head at his old friend.

"You're supposed to be in recharge," he chided.

"It wouldn't help," Prowl replied, optics focused on the datapad in his hand.

"Regardless," Optimus said. "If you don't recharge, you'll collapse."

"I did recharge," the tactician told him, obviously distracted by the blueprint on the datapad.

Optimus' optics narrowed slightly. "For an hour, perhaps an hour and a half. Prowl, I realize that this is hard for you, but…"

Prowl turned around, cutting Optimus off before the other mech could finish speaking and looking at his leader. For a moment, it didn't look like he was going to say anything. His body was rigid, his door wings tense and optics narrowed. Optimus rarely saw Prowl like this, but he knew what it meant; the tactician had just about reached his limits. Stepping forward, Optimus put a hand on Prowl's shoulder, trying to calm the other mech down.

"Prowl," he began.

The black and white armored mech shook his head. "Don't," he said, voice strained. "I don't need words of comfort, Optimus Prime. I don't need anyone to try anything." He pushed his leader's hand off his shoulder, turning back to his work. "I just need time and something to focus on."

"You can't go on like this, Prowl," Optimus tried once again.

"No, I can't," the tactician agreed. "In time, things will change. For now, just leave me be."

Optimus was silent for a long moment. He watched Prowl go over the blueprints, occasionally adding a note here and there on the datapad. Neither of them made a sound for the longest time before Optimus spoke again.

"What about Jazz?" he asked.

Once again, Prowl's body stiffened slightly. He said nothing, so Optimus took it as a cue to continue.

"The two of you are life-mates," he said. "Are you going to let him go because of this?"

Prowl let his doors lower and he slowly shook his head. "No. I could never let him go. I love him, Optimus." He looked back at his old friend. "You should understand that. You could never let go of Megatron."

Optimus flinched. Prowl was one of the few who ever knew about how he'd felt for the Decepticon leader. He'd kept it a well-hidden secret from most of the troops; none of them would ever understand if he ever let them know. Those who did know rarely brought it into discussion; they knew that it hurt Optimus to remind him of his love for the cruel tyrant.

"True," Optimus said softly, letting his shoulders slump ever so slightly. Even now, with Megatron dead, he couldn't let go of the feelings he'd held onto for millennia. He looked up at Prowl. "What will you do?"

Prowl didn't respond right away. Optimus had a feeling that the tactician wasn't quite sure at the moment of what he'd do. After a long moment, the Autobot leader raised his hand and shook his head.

"Never mind," he said. "Whatever you do is your choice." He managed a slight smile. "I truly do hope that all will turn out well for you and Jazz in the end. I cannot stand to see you like this, old friend."

Prowl gave a light nod. "Thank you, Optimus Prime."

Optimus put a hand on his friend's shoulder one last time. "Take care of yourself in the mean time, Prowl. I don't want you overworking yourself."

The tactician gave another nod, finally setting down the datapad. Turning, he walked silently past Optimus and headed back to the berth where he'd been laying previously. Optimus watched the other mech lay back down and slowly go into recharge. Satisfied, the red and blue Autobot headed over to the desk where his own work lay. He'd head to a berth once he was sure Prowl would stay in recharge for a while.

* * *

Ratchet was under orders from Optimus Prime to keep Jazz in the med bay for the day, mostly for observation and so that the medic could explain to Jazz about what had happened. He'd had quite the task on his hands, since Jazz's systems could only recall so much. The medic was grateful that, at least, he didn't have to relay the history of the war and Jazz's alliance; the saboteur knew quite well that he was an Autobot. Ratchet gave Jazz a brief bit of information on the latest developments of the war, up to and including Jazz's own death and re-ignition. 

"Yeah, I remember that much," the saboteur muttered, hands running down to his mid-section. He remembered the amount of pain from Megatron's arms pulling him apart. A spasm of phantom pain shot through his body at the memories and he shuttered his optics behind his visor.

"Don't force the memories," Ratchet warned. "Your processor is already sensitive from being re-ignited. Forcing what memory you have could result in permanent damage to your processor."

Jazz rubbed his head, feeling the slightest headache forming. "Yeah, yeah. Gotcha."

Ratchet placed his hands on his hips. "If I wind up having to repair you again this soon, Jazz, by Primus, I will have your head on a platter."

The saboteur nodded. "Uh-huh. So, when are you letting me out of this med bay, Ratch?"

Though Ratchet glowered at the shortened form of his name, he couldn't help feeling put somewhat at ease at the glimpse of familiarity he saw in the smaller mech. "You can leave when Optimus Prime says I can kick your sorry aft out."

A smirk placed itself on Jazz's lips. "My aft ain't sorry."

"It will be if you push me, Jazz."

Jazz looked out the small opening in the med bay wall and watched the other Autobots working in the base. His eyes fell on each of them in turn as he carefully identified them from the descriptions Ratchet had given him over the last few hours. He easily recognized Optimus Prime from what the medic had told him; there was no mistaking the red and blue mech for anyone else. He watched a yellow car pull into the base and identified the mech that transformed from the vehicle as Bumblebee. The yellow and red mechs that were standing in the corner, talking amongst themselves, he knew right away were the twins, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, respectively.

He had a bit of difficulty recalling the name of the green mech and was informed by Ratchet that it was Hoist. Well, four out of five wasn't so bad. After a moment, Jazz's optics finally landed on a black and white mech lying on a berth. At first, he didn't recognize him at all, but then he remembered the third mech that had been in the med bay when he'd come online. For a long moment, the saboteur kept his optics on the still form across the warehouse.

Ratchet followed Jazz's gaze and saw who he was watching. "That's Prowl," he said, seeing the blank expression on the smaller mech's faceplates. "He collapsed from exhaustion earlier. He's lucky Optimus was the one who told him to get to a berth." Had it been him, he would have wound up doing something drastic to get the tactician onto a berth.

"Autobot tactician, right?" Jazz asked. "Leader of the Beta team at Tyger Pax."

Ratchet nodded. He didn't mention yet that Prowl had been Jazz's life-mate. That was something he knew was best left to Prowl himself. His optics focused on Jazz and he was surprised to see a thoughtful expression on a face that had been blank just moments ago. A smile ghosted on his lips; he could just see the gears turning in Jazz's head, as the humans would say.

Perhaps the wipe of Jazz's system hadn't been as complete as they originally thought.

_**

* * *

Author's Note:**__ Why do my muses always take over and write the story themselves? I swear, that wasn't how I planned the ending of this chapter; I wanted Jazz to be confused about Prowl for another half-chapter. Grr. Oh, well. More fun for you readers, I suppose. Next chapter may be a bit late, since I want to finish a one-shot I'm writing for a friend before I start writing the next chapter of this. I promise I'll get it finished as soon as I can, though!_


	4. Chapter IV

_**Author's Note:**__ I'm so sorry that this has taken me so long to write. Between school, work, two rewrites, and a couple really stubborn muses, I'm amazed that I even got it done!  
**Warnings:**__ Rumble and Soundwave. Angry twins. Plot points. Sneaky Jazz.  
**Disclaimer:**__Need I remind everyone of the beer barrel incident? I don't own them and I'm not about to be re-introduced to Bob the Beer Barrel, even if we did have a good time in Hawaii.  
**Note:**__Hopefully, the site won't fuck up my formatting, but anything written in double-slashes is in sign language. You'll see why._

Chapter Four

Humans, Rumble decided, were a pathetic lot.

He and Soundwave had followed the Autobots from Mission City to Tranquility, carefully masking their signals so they weren't discovered. Barricade had stated that he'd join them later, after he made contact with the currently missing Starscream. Why he wanted to even contact the second-in-command after Starscream retreated during battle against Megatron's orders, they couldn't figure out. It was of little importance to them at this point.

The only matter of importance at this moment was regaining the Allspark from the Autobots. Rumble had confirmed earlier that the Allspark had not been destroyed during the battle and was currently being kept in the make-shift base the Autobots had taken up residence in. There was always a group of Autobots within the base, keeping both Rumble and Soundwave from getting in to retrieve it; the task was more than a single Decepticon and a mini-con could handle.

So for the time being, Rumble was reduced to spying on the Autobots and their pet humans. The mini-con was currently perched high in one of the trees overlooking a lake. He'd ejected a small mobile unit from his chest cavity to move about and get closer to the humans while projecting a hologram to mask itself. The hologram had taken the form of a young human, what one would call a teenager. If one were to hazard a guess at an age, perhaps fifteen or sixteen would be an accurate estimate. It had a bit of a punk look to it, with long black and blue bangs flipped to one side, wearing a pair of black long shorts and a dark blue and purple tanktop.

Rumble was having the mobile unit follow one of the Autobots' pet humans, the girl Mikaela Banes. To fully interact with the humans was difficult; the mobile unit had no vocal capabilities with which to speak to Mikaela. Rumble had cross-referenced what humans called 'sign language' and was using that to have his hologram interact. So far, so good; Mikaela had no idea that the hologram wasn't real and had no clue what Rumble was planning.

Sam Witwicky approached Mikaela and Rumble's hologram. The boy glanced between the holographic boy and his girlfriend before grinning at Mikaela.

"Who's this?" he asked.

Mikaela smiled back at Sam. "This is Ryan," she said. "He says that he's new to Tranquility, so he was looking for someone to talk to, so he knows someone when he starts going to our school in the fall."

"Uh, huh," Sam replied, looking the hologram over with a skeptic eye.

Rumble sent a signal to the hologram to smile and sign a greeting to Sam. He watched Sam raise an eyebrow in confusion. Mikaela quickly translated and explained to Sam that "Ryan" was a mute.

"I didn't know you knew sign language," Sam said to Mikaela.

"I took it for three years," the girl replied. "I'm not the best, but I can carry a conversation with it."

//I think you're pretty good,// Ryan signed.

Mikaela smiled. //Thanks,// she signed back.

"What'd he say?" Sam asked.

"He said that he thinks I'm pretty good at it," Mikaela replied.

Sam gave a light frown and turned to his girlfriend. "You know, we should get back to the guys," he said. "It's probably not a good idea to leave them alone."

"Oh, right," Mikaela said. She looked towards the woods on the other side of the lake, then back to Sam. "Uh, you want to go ahead and I'll catch up to you?"

Looking at Ryan, Sam gave the boy a look that clearly stated he didn't really want to leave Mikaela in his company. "Sure. Why not?"

With that, he turned and headed down the path that led to the other side of the lake. Mikaela gave a half-frown and sighed. She turned to Ryan and apologized for Sam's abruptness. Ryan waved off the apology and signed to Mikaela.

//It's alright,// he told her, a sad smile on his face. //I get it all the time. A lot of people just don't understand.//

Mikaela gave him a soft smile. Back in his tree, Rumble decided that it was particularly human females that were pathetic; they believed just about anything you told them if you did it with just the right amount of misery. He continued to 'talk' with Mikaela long enough to confirm that he had the girl's trust before Mikaela finally said that she should catch up with Sam. After a quick good-bye, the girl turned and headed down the pathway that lead around to the other side of the lake.

Ryan smiled and waved good-bye after the girl for a moment before the hologram's imaging skipped and faded, revealing the small silver mobile unit, which scurried along the path back to the tree where it climbed up and returned to the cavity in Rumble's chest. The mini-con hailed Soundwave over a private communication link and readied himself to join the other Decepticon.

**"The female is far too trusting,"** he said. **"She doesn't even realize that 'Ryan' is nothing more than a projection."**

**"And the male?"** Soundwave inquired from his end of the line.

Rumble clicked in speculation.** "He may suspect. I was unable to analyze him."**

A by-now familiar vehicle pulled up and Rumble jumped across the branches of the tree he was in until he stood in the branch just above the vehicle. When no one was looking, he leaped through the opened passenger-side window and made himself comfortable on the soft leather seat of Soundwave's alt-mode. Once his partner was settled in, Soundwave pulled out of the rest area around the lake, turning onto the main road that led back to the highway.

**"We can use the humans as a way to get to the Allspark,"** Soundwave said. **"The Autobots are fools for their allies."**

Rumble nodded. **"The female will be useful. The male, though…"**

**"We will have use for both. The male is the one closest to the Autobots. He will be the key."**

That said, Soundwave ended the conversation, turning onto the highway and heading for the hideout that he and Rumble had set up in the hills around Tranquility.

* * *

As soon as Mikaela reached the hidden clearing where Sam and the Autobots were waiting, she found herself facing two worried mechs, one worried boyfriend and a set of decidedly upset twins. The girl stopped in her tracks and blinked in confusion. Sam approached her and put his hands on her shoulders, a frown on his lips.

"Are you being followed?" he asked.

Mikaela shook her head. "No. Why? What's going on?" She glanced around at the four Autobots that stood around them, all looking as though they were ready to pull out their weapons. "Guys?"

"We picked up a signal," Jazz said.

He and the twins had decided to join Bumblebee and the two humans at the lake; Jazz to spend time with Bumblebee, Sam and Mikaela in an attempt to jolt his processor from the wipe. The twins had actually been ordered to go so as to give Ratchet the break he so desperately needed. With the signal that they'd just picked up, it was a good thing that all of them were there.

"What kind of signal?" Mikaela asked, beginning to feel nervous.

"I ran it through an analysis," Sunstreaker said. "The results weren't clear, but it's got to be a Decepticon signal. It's definitely not one of ours."

"You're sure?" Mikaela asked.

"Even if it's a weak signal, we'd know if it was an Autobot," Sideswipe replied. "The signal was pretty weak, despite it being practically next to us. It must have been a mobile unit from a small 'Con."

Sunstreaker shifted to stand next to his brother. "You don't think…?"

The red Lamborghini twitched. "Rumble. It has to be."

"Which means…?" Sam asked.

"If Rumble's around," Sunstreaker said, "then Soundwave isn't too far, either. Rumble's never far from Soundwave."

"And Soundwave is?" Mikaela pressed.

Sunstreaker let out a growled string of Cybertronian, the tone of his voice alone telling Mikaela that Soundwave was definitely not Sunstreaker's favorite Decepticon. She stepped back, unconsciously reaching for Sam's hand. Sam gave her hand a squeeze to let her know it was okay. When Sunstreaker finished his growling, Sam repeated Mikaela's question, this time, directing it to Bumblebee.

"Soundwave was Megatron's most trusted mech," the Camaro-disguised 'bot replied. "He's the head of the Decepticon communications and…"

"And the son of a glitch that hurt Bluestreak," Sunstreaker snarled.

Mikaela raised a brow in confusion. "Who's Bluestreak?"

"He's one of our gunners," Bumblebee explained.

"_Was_," Sideswipe corrected. "We contacted Perceptor about him before we came here. He's still off the field from Soundwave's attack."

Sunstreaker suddenly growled, transformed into his alt mode, and revved his engine. Bumblebee rushed to block the older mech's path, knowing what was going through Sunstreaker's processor. The yellow twin growled threateningly at Bumblebee.

"Move it, you glitch!" he told the scout. "I'm going to deactivate that fragger!"

Bumblebee stood still. "Don't you even dare, Sunny!" he said. "You know what would happen if you went off on your own! Especially against Soundwave!"

"I don't care!" Sunstreaker snarled. "I'm going to tear him apart for what he did to Bluestreak!"

Bumblebee gave a pleading look to Sideswipe, hoping that the calmer red warrior could help keep Sunstreaker from doing anything stupid. To his dismay, Sideswipe looked just about ready to join his brother. Bumblebee made one final attempt to get someone to help him and looked to Jazz. Luckily for him, the saboteur knew right away what to do.

"Sunny, you're not to go after Soundwave," Jazz told him, voice firm. "We need to get Sam and Mikaela home and then get over to the base to tell Optimus about this. You two can deal with Soundwave once we make sure that the others know about him being around." He looked over to Bumblebee and gave him a nod. "Bumblebee, you get the humans safely home. If you pick up Soundwave's signal, alert us immediately."

The silver mech transformed into his alternate mode. He turned to Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. "You two, come with me. Don't think I won't beat your afts if you think about going after Soundwave."

Sunstreaker was going to argue, but a swift glare from his brother stopped him. Giving an exasperated sigh, the Lamborghini-disguised mech turned around to head back to the base. He let Jazz go ahead of him and waited for his twin to join them. Just before he followed the gravel road after the other two, he paused and hailed Bumblebee over a communication link.

"You'd better be careful," he told the younger mech. "I don't want you winding up like Bluestreak."

Bumblebee nodded before he transformed into his Camaro alternate mode. Once he was fully transformed, he opened his side doors for Sam and Mikaela to climb inside. He revved his engine at the yellow twin. "I'll be fine," he promised the other mech.

Sunstreaker didn't reply. At least somewhat content, he turned and headed down the gravel road after Jazz and his twin. Bumblebee followed his three companions for a while before he turned off the main road and headed for Sam's house. He was quiet through-out most of the ride, leaving the two humans inside him to talk quietly to each other.

"What do you think is going on?" Mikaela asked. "I mean, the Decepticons that they said are here now. Why would they be coming to Earth now? Megatron's been destroyed, Starscream's nowhere to be found and neither is the cop car…whatever his name was."

Sam frowned, concentrating. "It's gotta be the piece of the Allspark they used to bring Jazz back. That's the only explanation for it."

"What could they possible do with it, though?" Mikaela continued. "Ratchet and Optimus said that it couldn't possibly do much. It took a lot of power to re-ignite Jazz's spark. As it is now, there isn't much the Decepticons could do with it if they did get their hands on it."

"Not true," Bumblebee said suddenly, voice coming through the radio speakers and making the two humans jump slightly. "Remember, that piece is regenerating. If Soundwave gets his hands on it, he could hold onto it until it's whole. And if he does, he could do a lot of damage, both to Earth and to what remains of Cybertron."

"So what are we going to do about it?" Sam asked. "We can't just hide it from him. Sector Seven tried to hide the Allspark before, but it was still found."

"It was found because we had your grandfather's glasses and they showed it to you," Bumblebee told him. He came to a stop at a red light. "Now it's just being kept in the base. Soundwave can't take all of us at once; not if it's just him and Rumble. The Allspark's safe for now, but if Soundwave calls more Decepticons to help him, we could wind up fighting all over again."

"Yeah, we get that," Mikaela said. "That still leaves the question of what to do."

"I don't know," the Camaro-disguised mech told her. "Jazz and the twins are telling Optimus about Soundwave. Optimus and Prowl will figure something out. In the mean time, we also need to protect you two."

Sam wrinkled his brow. "You don't think Soundwave will come after us?"

Mikaela looked at her boyfriend. "Of course he does," she said. "Why else would he say that they need to protect us?" She looked at the dashboard of the Camaro. "What about the others? I know Ironhide's protecting the Lennox family, but what about everyone else that was involved? Epps and his family? Maggie and Glen?"

"Would Soundwave go after them, too?" Sam asked.

Bumblebee's engine rumbled. "I don't know. Optimus will let us know. For now, though, I think they'll be okay. If Soundwave is here in Tranquility, then everyone else should be alright for the time being. Maggie and Glen live in your country's capital and Epps is located in California."

Mikaela, reminded of this, gave a relieved sigh. "Good point. But still, shouldn't there be someone watching over them? In case Soundwave_does_ contact more Decepticons?"

"Mikaela, leave the worrying to the Autobots," Sam told her. "If they have reason to believe that the others are in danger, they'll do something."

"He's right," Bumblebee said. "Just to be on the safe side, do you two think you could get in contact with the others and warn them of what happened today?"

Sam gave a nod. "Sure. I've Glen's e-mail address. I'm sure he'll find a way to forward a warning to everyone else."

"Thank you, Sam," Bumblebee told him as he pulled into the driveway of the Witwicky house. He parked himself in the driveway and opened his doors to let Sam and Mikaela out.

"Hey, just to be safe," Sam said as he helped his girlfriend out of the car, "why don't we talk to my parents about letting you stay the night here? I mean, Bumblebee can't guard both of us if we're in two separate places."

"One of the others could guard her," the yellow mech said.

"But it would be easier for me to stay here," Mikaela pointed out. "That way, you don't have to stretch your resources."

Bumblebee was quiet for a long minute. "I'm still going to call for one of the others," he told them. "If Soundwave comes over here, I can't handle him on my own. He's much too strong."

Sam and Mikaela both nodded. Sam took Mikaela's arm and began to lead her into the house.

"You make the call to one of the others," he told Bumblebee as he walked to the house. "We'll talk to my parents. If we explain the situation, they'll probably agree."

* * *

Prowl had stayed back after the impromptu meeting that Optimus had called once Jazz and the twins explained the situation from the lake. The tactician was going over the notes that had been taken over the entire meeting, looking for anything that he could use to formulate a plan to keep Soundwave and Rumble from getting to the Allspark. So occupied with his work, he didn't realize how the time passed. It was past sunset when Prowl heard footsteps approaching him. He didn't even turn to see who it was; those footsteps were all-too familiar.

"What is it, Jazz?" he asked. He held back the feelings he had for the Pontiac, knowing that Jazz didn't remember what they'd had.

"Are you going to work all night, man?" Jazz countered with a question of his own.

Prowl lifted his head to glance out one of the large windows of the warehouse that sheltered the Autobots from the sight of the humans. Sure enough, it was dark out and Prowl could see Earth's moon hanging in the dark blue sky. He frowned slightly; his internal chronometer hadn't alerted him of the time.

"Prowl?" Jazz asked softly.

The tactician's door wings stiffened at the tone of the other mech's voice. That soft calling reminded him far too much of the times from before, when the two of them were together. Memories of how they'd once been flashed through Prowl's processor and it took all he had to keep from telling Jazz everything; how he'd missed him for the last several thousand years, how he had nearly lost all control when he found out about Jazz's death, how much it hurt him now to think about how Jazz didn't remember any of what they had been.

"I'll recharge when I'm finished here," Prowl said, forcing his voice to stay steady.

There was a moment of silence. Prowl was about to turn around to see whether or not Jazz was even still standing there when he felt the saboteur's fingers brush lightly against the joint between his door wings. The tactician held back the gasp that threatened to escape his lips.

"Jazz, don't," he whispered. His voice was so low that he could barely hear himself say it.

Jazz's fingers brushed against the joint again and Prowl once again found himself forcing back a pleasured gasp. He turned around abruptly and took hold of Jazz's wrist, startling the silver mech. Forcing down the feelings that were bubbling within his spark, he looked firmly at Jazz.

"Don't," he said, voice only barely restrained. "Please."

He wanted the touches, wanted Jazz to find every pleasurable spot on his body. He longed to be with the saboteur, to be as they once were. What he wouldn't give to have Jazz back, to have the love that Jazz had once had for him. His spark ached just being so close to his lover and yet so far away. With Jazz's memories of them wiped clean, Prowl could only hope that with some time, things could go back to as they were.

He held back, forced every wave of longing down and brushed past Jazz, heading for his berth. Jazz, startled that he'd upset the other mech, stood where he was, watching Prowl as the tactician headed for the berth. It probably wasn't a good idea to try to apologize and explain things to the other, if Prowl was so upset with him, so he headed over to his own berth to recharge. He'd try to talk to Prowl in the morning.

* * *

The next morning, Prowl was right back to work, going over the reports from the meeting, looking over plans for the new base, and readying strategies to protect themselves and the Allspark if Soundwave and Rumble attempted to infiltrate and abscond with it. Bumblebee had called for back-up from one of the others to help guard Sam and Mikaela, the twins were being watched to make sure they didn't go after the Decepticon's communications officer on their own and Optimus was out with Ratchet and Hoist, seeking a location for the new base. The only mechs actually in the make-shift base were Prowl and Jazz.

It was rather awkward for Jazz. After all, he wasn't quite sure yet what to tell the tactician about the happenings of the previous night. He couldn't even explain to himself why he'd gone and touched Prowl. He had to know Prowl from previous to his death; why else would Prowl have been so upset when he hadn't recognized him when he first came back online.

"Hey, Prowl," he said, trying to get the tactician's attention away from his work for a moment.

"Hm?" came the distracted reply.

"About last night," Jazz said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you or anything. What I did…it just felt right."

Prowl paused in his work, but didn't turn around to look at the saboteur. When he didn't say anything, Jazz continued.

"Prowl? Was there…anything between us? From before?"

This time, the tactician did look up. "Jazz?"

"Did you hate me?" the saboteur asked. "Did you like me? I can remember some things with most of the others, but you're…a blank. What were we?"

Prowl hesitated. Truly, he wanted to tell Jazz, but to simply tell him everything could have varying consequences; Jazz could either go with it or completely deny it. While Prowl didn't think that Jazz would opt to deny everything, it wouldn't be the easiest thing to take in.

"Prowl?" Jazz pressed.

"We…were friends," Prowl finally told him.

It was the truth, in some lights; they had started out as friends, when they'd first met back at the military academy. Things had developed between them after Jazz's graduation and induction into Optimus Prime's regime. They hadn't become lovers until shortly after the attack on Praxus, when Prowl had needed the most comfort from Jazz.

Jazz gave Prowl a long look. "Just friends, huh?" There was an almost inaudible hint of disappointment in his voice. He was silent for just a moment. "If that's it, then."

Prowl's door wings gave a small twitch as he picked up on the disappointment in his lover's voice. Even after so long apart, he could still pick up on the small changes in Jazz's mood and tone. He turned around, letting his blue optics sweep over Jazz's silver form, taking in the sight of his beloved saboteur; the way Jazz held himself, the soft blue glow of his optics behind his visor, the gentle curve of his armor over his body.

"Jazz," he said, stepping forward. "You don't remember anything when it comes to me?"

Jazz shook his head. "It's driving me crazy. I know there has to be something to you, but I just can't figure it out." He looked up at Prowl, who had moved to stand in front of him. "You're sure we're just friends?"

Prowl's optics focused on Jazz's face. He knew that the saboteur could tell he was holding back; there had always been little that Prowl could hide from him. Knowing that he would have to tell Jazz the truth at one point or another made the tactician's spark pulse with an unbidden fear; fear of pushing Jazz to quickly into the relationship they'd once had.

Jazz gave a light gasp as the other mech suddenly pulled him into an embrace. "P-Prowl?"

Prowl buried his face in Jazz's neck. "I don't want to push you, Jazz," he told the smaller mech. He clung to the familiar body of his beloved saboteur, wishing that they could be as they once were. "I don't want to lose you again."

Jazz was frozen where he stood, his processor going over what Prowl had said. He started to tentatively put his arms around the tactician in return, but before he could, Prowl released him and looked away. Jazz tilted his head, trying to understand what Prowl was saying; he had a good idea, but he wished Prowl would just say outright what he meant.

"Prowl," he said softly. "Will you just be honest with me?"

Prowl turned away from Jazz, unable to look at the saboteur without his spark hurting. He was silent for a moment before he finally replied. "In time, Jazz."

With that, Prowl left the base, transforming into his alt mode on his way out. Jazz watched the tactician leave and frowned. From the way Prowl acted, there was no way the two of them were just friends. His spark was pulsing after the short embrace, sending waves of warmth through his body. There was something more going on and he wanted to know exactly what. More specifically, he wanted to hear it from Prowl.

He would make sure that he did hear it.

_**Author's Note: **__Many, many apologies for the lateness of this chapter. Rumble was being extraordinarily difficult to work with. –headdesk- And the last two scenes were a lot longer than I wanted, but good gods, it's difficult to restrain Jazz once I have him going. Grr. Hopefully the next chapter won't take me near as long._


	5. Chapter V

_**Author's Note:** One of my readers caught a mistake I'd make last chapter; I'd made it look as if Jazz was the only one in the base. He's not, I just failed to mention that because I wrote the last of the chapter really late at night, probably closer to early in the morning. I'm going back and fixing that in this chapter.  
__**Warnings:** Not really much to warn about in this chapter.  
__**Disclaimer: **As I sit here in an eight by eight cell, I am forced to come to terms with the fact that I **still don't** and **never will** own them._

Chapter Five

Jazz was still standing where Prowl had left him when the Lamborghini twins came back into the base a few minutes later. They'd been just outside the base, scoping the area around the building, in case Soundwave or his mini-con were around. Both twins had been surprised to see Prowl drive off; he was supposed to stay around in case either of them made a break for it behind Jazz's back. Curiosity had gotten the better of them when the tactician had abruptly left and they'd decided to question Jazz for a reason.

"Hey, Jazz," Sideswipe said, raising one arm in greeting. "What's up with Prowl? I thought he was supposed to stick around?"

Jazz shrugged, finally moving from the spot where he'd been frozen. He moved away from the desk Prowl had been seated at and went to sit on one of the berths in the base. "I dunno. I think I really upset him."

Sunstreaker crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, he's been pretty easy to upset lately. Normally, he's pretty hard to frag off."

"It's probably because he's already upset about you," Sideswipe added. "You two were pretty close."

Jazz looked up at the red twin. "How close d'ya mean?"

His suspicions were rising by the minute; there was simply no way that he and Prowl had only been friends. If the tactician's actions were anything to judge by, Jazz would say that there had definitely been something more between them. If only someone would just clue him in. He wasn't about to do anything without at least some indications that his suspicions had merit. He'd prefer it from Prowl, but he'd settle for anyone telling him.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe exchanged glances. Neither of them were sure it was their place to say anything about the situation. True, this never stopped them before, but they cared a lot about Jazz and didn't want to cause him any more pain or confusion than he'd already been through. Sideswipe, as the twin less likely to be blunt, spoke up.

"Jazz, how much do you really remember from before?"

The saboteur paused, having not expected the question. He took a minute to go over the information he'd gathered while in the company of the other Autobots on Earth and what he'd been able to recall on his own. It wasn't a whole lot of information, but it was enough to give him a general idea of how he'd been involved in the war, bits and pieces of his personal history and the relationships he'd had with the other mechs. That was, the relationships with everyone except for Prowl; what the tactician had told him couldn't possibly be right. It didn't _feel_ right.

"T'be honest, I don't remember a lot, Sides," Jazz finally said. "I just got the basic ideas. I told Ratchet all I remembered when I came online. Everything else is jus' what I've gotten from all of you."

"You at least remember that we care about you, right?" Sideswipe asked.

"You wouldn't be helpin' me if you didn't," the saboteur grinned lightly.

Sunstreaker gave a small laugh and placed his hand on the smaller mech's shoulder. "Then you know that we can't tell you everything. Particularly things about Prowl."

Jazz frowned. "Why not? What is it that I'm missing?"

"You'll have to keep pestering Prowl for the answer to that," Sideswipe told him. "We're not going to put either of you in an awkward position."

"Prowl's barely talking t'me," Jazz protested. "He's been avoidin' me since that first time I came online. Jus' now was the longest he's talked t'me."

"Give him time," Sunstreaker said. "You can't expect him of all mechs to immediately babble on and on."

Jazz gave a nod. "I know. I jus' wish he'd tell me outright, y'know. I want to know what's going on, but I can't get anything from 'im."

Sideswipe shrugged. "Don't know what to tell you, Jazz. It's not our place to tell you what he should. If it were anyone else, we'd tell you everything we knew, but it's Prowl that has to tell you the truth, not us."

"Like I said, give him time," Sunstreaker added. "He's been going through a lot lately."

Jazz sighed. "You're right," he said. "I'll talk to 'im again later. At least, I'll try."

"That's the spirit," Sideswipe gave Jazz a soft grin. He put one arm around the saboteur's shoulders in a friendly, comforting gesture. "Knowing Prowl, he won't be able to avoid you for long."

The three mechs continued to talk for a while, changing the subject from time to time. Jazz didn't want to focus on Prowl anymore; there were other things from his past that he was curious about and those things were what the twins were comfortable telling him. By the time Optimus, Ratchet and Hoist returned to the base, Jazz was more like his old self than he'd been since his spark was re-ignited. Things were beginning to look up in the base.

* * *

All was quiet for the next few weeks. Nothing was seen or heard from Soundwave or Rumble. The Autobots all knew they couldn't relax, though; there was no relaxing if Decepticons were around. They could strike at any time. Bumblebee and Jazz kept careful watch on Mikaela and the Witwicky family while Ironhide maintained a just as careful guard on Will Lennox and his wife and child. The others divided their forces helping build the new base in the hills that surrounded Tranquility.

Optimus and Ratchet had departed from Earth not but a day ago to retrieve the _Ark_ from where it had been stashed away for the arrival to Earth. The large ship was part of the planned base in the hills. Prowl had been put in charge on Earth for the time being and the tactician was directing Hoist, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Jazz as they prepared the site for the return of Ratchet and Optimus with the _Ark_; they were due to arrive that night.

While the others worked, Bumblebee was on his way to pick Sam and Mikaela up from school. They'd told him that it was the last of day of school until September rolled around and had volunteered to help the Autobots prepare for the _Ark_'s arrival. While the mechs were grateful for the offer, Prowl had declined to accept it, saying that they couldn't accept their help for this; it was something they had to do. The new base would be their new home and they had to make their home on their own.

Bumblebee was only a few blocks from the school when his systems picked up a signal. He recognized it almost immediately and he skidded to a stop, frightening the woman driving behind him into slamming on her brakes to avoid rear-ending him. Bumblebee's systems flashed and he turned to go after the signal. As he drove towards its origins, he called Mikaela's phone to inform her of the situation; she'd pass it on to Sam. He left a message in the girl's voicemail before hailing Prowl for back-up.

"Prowl, send back-up to Tranquility_ now_. Barricade is in the vicinity. I'm en-route."

On the other end of the communication line, Prowl assessed the situation before opting to send Hoist to assist the young scout. Hoist's alt-mode would be able to haul the Decepticon in for questioning after they knocked him off-line. The green mech transformed at Prowl's command and headed immediately for the town.

"Bumblebee, do not approach," Prowl instructed. "Track Barricade down, but do not approach him until Hoist arrives."

"Understood," Bumblebee said before signing off the channel he'd been using to communicate. His focus now was entirely on finding Barricade.

He put a tracker on the Decepticon's signal and followed it. He found that it originated in the abandoned car lot under the highway overpass where the Decepticon had first attacked the Witwicky boy. The Saleen sat unmoving, though it was impossible to tell if he was in recharge or in waiting. Bumblebee kept out of sight, masking his signal so Barricade wouldn't pick up on him. He sent his coordinates to Hoist over a private line before he circled around to watch the Decepticon.

Except that when he looked to keep an optic on him, Barricade had disappeared. Bumblebee halted. His sensors flared, looking for any sign of where the police cruiser had disappeared to, ready to alert the scout to Barricade's presence. The Decepticon could not have gone too far. Bumblebee would have seen if Barricade had left the car lot, would have heard him transform if the police cruiser had chosen to do so. He had to still be within the vicinity.

Cautiously, Bumblebee put himself into reverse and began to roll back, keeping his sensors on alert. He did _not_ need to be ambushed by the bigger mech. Just because he was being hunted by the Decepticon didn't mean that he was going to be meek prey. Oh, no; if Barricade wanted to take him down, he was going to make it as difficult for him as possible. He transformed, standing in the middle of the abandoned car lot, his cannon steady and ready to be used when Barricade attacked.

Bumblebee was on alert when Hoist arrived but a few minutes later. The Toyota-disguised mech transformed upon seeing him and pulled his own weapon out. Taking charge, Hoist gestured for Bumblebee to circle the car lot one way while he began going the other way. The small scout gave a nod and turned to make his round, leveling his cannon and panning from side to side as he cautiously made his way through the car lot.

A sudden force knocked him to the ground and he felt long metal claws dig into his armor. Letting out a sharp, metallic cry, Bumblebee shifted and tried to shove Barricade off him. He held back another cry as the Decepticon's claws tore into his cannon, working to disable it even as they fought. Bumblebee's free arm swung out, fist slamming into Barricade's face and phasing the other mech just long enough for the young Autobot to knock him off and stand to fight once more.

Barricade gave a snarl as he pushed himself up and whipped out his melee weapon. He swung it out, striking Bumblebee and knocking the smaller mech back a couple steps. A shot from behind him alerted the Decepticon to Hoist's arrival to the battle site and Barricade found himself dodging shots from both Autobots. Though he was stronger than either one individually, he was finding it difficult to fight both at once, striking out at Hoist to be shot at by Bumblebee, retaliating to Bumblebee's shots and being attacked by Hoist.

Hoist lunged, slamming his larger body into Barricade's and throwing the Decepticon to the ground. He wrenched Barricade's arms behind his back in an attempt to restrain him as Bumblebee aimed his cannon at the resisting Mustang. Hoist shifted, keeping Barricade beneath him as he worked to force the other mech off-line. It wasn't easy, with Barricade thrashing under his body, but the green mech managed to get the upper hand and quickly off-lined the Decepticon.

Bumblebee cautiously lowered his weapon and approached. Hoist stood, keeping his optics on their captive. The Decepticon remained off-line and the two Autobots stood over him, sparks pulsing from the short fight. Bumblebee prodded Barricade's still frame with one foot.

"How are we going to get him to the base?" the young scout asked. "We can't exactly haul him through the town like this."

Hoist surveyed the car lot briefly, looking for anything that might be of use. He spotted an abandoned trailer and a torn-up blue tarp. Hauling them over, he had Bumblebee help him get Barricade in the trailer. It was an awkward fit and the trailer could just barely hold Barricade's weight, but it would have to do. Hoist transformed into his alt mode as Bumblebee covered Barricade with the tattered tarp and hitched the trailer to Hoist.

Finally, Bumblebee transformed and led the way out of the car lot. Hoist followed carefully, making sure that the trailer carrying their captive stayed attached. It would not do to lose the trailer while they were en-route. Barricade would need to be questioned when he was brought back online; he was the only connection they had to the Decepticons and what they might be planning. Losing him en-route was not an option.

* * *

The sky was overcast that night, making it easier for Optimus and Ratchet to bring the Ark down to the base site without every human within the vicinity of Tranquility seeing. Ironhide had brought Will and his family into town for the occasion; Sarah held Annabelle in her arms, watching the sky as she stood next to her husband. Mikaela and the Witwicky family were doing the same on her other side. Prowl, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Ironhide and Jazz waiting alongside the humans, the twins with their arms crossed over their chests and optics focused on the clouds above them while Ironhide waited alongside his surrogate family. Prowl and Jazz stood to the side a bit, both silent as they waited.

Sunstreaker was getting impatient with the two of them. He may have told Jazz to give Prowl some time, but this was just getting to become too much. The two mechs hadn't spoken to each other for several days, acting as if they were avoiding each other like a plague of cosmic rust. Sunstreaker wanted to take the saboteur and the tactician and slam their heads together; if neither of them were going to make the first move, he'd do it for them. He was tired of seeing them like this. There was far too much tension between them and it was going to wind up destroying anything that might remain between them.

A hand on his shoulder drew the yellow mech out of thought and he looked at his brother. Sideswipe's optics narrowed slightly at his twin, as if searching for an idea of what Sunstreaker was thinking about. Not that Sideswipe needed to look for signs; he'd been thinking about the same thing, actually. They both knew that they couldn't let this go on too much longer. They just didn't know how to go about getting Prowl and Jazz together. It wasn't like they were matchmakers of sorts.

Sideswipe opened a private communication line for him and his twin. _//What are we going to do about this, Sunny?//_

_//Get them both overcharged and lock them in private quarters once the base is set up?//_ Sunstreaker suggested, giving a light shrug. _//Slag it, Sideswipe, you know I have no idea what to do.//_

_//Well, we should do __**something**__. Both Prowl and Jazz are looking absolutely miserable. I don't see why Prowl's being so stubborn about being quiet.//_

_//Because it would be unlike him to be otherwise?//_ Sunstreaker chanced a glance to where Prowl and Jazz stood off to the sidelines. His optics narrowed as he watched them. _//If Prowl winds up hurting Jazz because he can't 'fess up, commanding officer or not, I'm going to beat his aft.//_

Sideswipe crossed his arms over his chest once again, bowing his head in thought. _//Do you still have the recording of the time Prowl got overcharged and gave Jazz a lap dance? Maybe we could use that?//_

Sunstreaker turned to his twin, an optic ridge raised in confusion._ //And how is that going to help get them back together?//_

_//I don't know,//_ Sideswipe shrugged. _//I thought maybe you could think of something to do with it.//_

With identical sighs of exasperation, the twins both turned back to watch the sky. They continued to dwell on the thought of what to do about Prowl and Jazz, but the train of thought was interrupted when Mikaela pointed upwards with an awed gasp. Everyone shifted their gaze to where the girl was pointing as the _Ark_ came into view from the clouds that hung in the sky. The humans were all very much impressed by the large ship; it was easily twice the size of a football stadium and built of the same metal that the mechs were.

Dark, grey, and daunting, the ship maneuvered over their heads to the designated landing site, settling onto the ground with a loud metallic groan. Minutes passed as the ship settled. Will and Sarah stood back with Ron and Judy as Mikaela and Sam stepped closer with wide eyes. Even after knowing the Autobots for as long as they had, there was still so much about the mechs that was awe-inspiring.

An entrance opened up and Optimus Prime stepped out of the ship. He let his gaze run over the gathered mechs and humans as he exited the ship, noting who was there and who wasn't. Stepping forward, he approached the group and raised one hand as he addressed them.

"The _Ark_ is ready," he said. "Ratchet and I have ensured the safety of the Allspark on board. Tonight, we may rest aboard the _Ark_ and tomorrow, we shall continue to make our home."

He turned to Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, a distinctly amused look in his optics. "The two of you should go to the medical bay," he told them. Before the twins could respond, he added a reason: "Bluestreak's been asking to see you since we picked him and Perceptor up."

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe both perked up at that. They exchanged looks before heading quickly into the _Ark_. Ironhide and Optimus both chuckled at the twins. Even Prowl couldn't resist a smirk; the excitement the twins displayed was so unlike them, but they all knew that Bluestreak managed to pry out different sides to both of them. It was nice to see this different side, now that the war was finally coming to an end.

Jazz, from where he stood not far from Prowl, watched as the twins disappeared into the ship. He turned to join the others in a gathering around Optimus, but paused when he saw the amused smirk on Prowl's face. The sight made his spark pulse. He knew there was something inside him that was trying to get past what he'd forgotten and move on, something that wanted to know the truth.

He sighed softly and took his optics off Prowl, stepping past the humans that still watched the ship with awe. He raised a hand in greeting and welcomed Optimus back to Earth. Then, while the others spoke with the Autobot leader, the saboteur headed into the Ark.

Optimus watched as his trusted friend walked past, taking note of how Jazz seemed to be becoming a bit distant. It hurt him to see any of his troops, his allies, his friends, hurt. Jazz was obviously hurting. As was Prowl, though the tactician refused to show it. Optimus had hoped that things would have moved on in his absence, but it looked like nothing had changed.

He turned to Prowl as the younger mech explained the situation with the currently missing Bumblebee and Hoist. Optimus nodded after hearing the story and authorized bringing Barricade into the _Ark_ for better containment until the Decepticon decided to cooperate; the makeshift base in the warehouse would not contain him very well for long

"You still haven't told him, have you?" Optimus asked, bringing up the situation between his tactician and his special operations officer.

Prowl stiffened. He hesitated, not wanting to discuss the situation at all. "It's…things are complicated, Optimus," he replied. "I don't want to push him, but it's…"

"If you take too long, Prowl," Optimus interrupted, "you _will_ lose him. Perhaps forever."

Prowl shook his head. "I don't want that. You know that I don't."

Optimus placed a hand on Prowl's shoulder. "Go to him. Talk to him. If you don't want to lose him, you have to do something to make sure that doesn't happen. Don't make the same mistake that I did."

Prowl hung his head and was silent for several long minutes. Optimus waited patiently for a response from his friend. Finally, he took his hand away from Prowl's shoulder and began to step back, giving the tactician his space. He was about to head back to the _Ark_ when he paused to look back at Prowl.

"He wants to know the truth, Prowl," he said. "You're the only one who can give it to him."

_**Author's Note:**__ Haha…I saw Riverdance over the weekend and now I have Riverdancing Transformers in my head. Gods know I'll never be rid of them, either. Anyways, the whole Prowl giving Jazz a lap dance? -points to Vejiraziel and Vericus- Their fault. 8D;;_


	6. Chapter VI

_**Author's Note:** Just a head's up here. If you haven't read **Innocence Lost**, you may not understand some of the things that Barricade goes on about in this chapter. It's not required that you read it, but it might help make some sense out of it. Yes, I know. I've referred you to that before, but trust me, it will help if you get confused.  
__**Warnings:** Let's just say that this chapter is the reason I upped the rating.  
__**Disclaimer:** If I owned them it would be helluva lot easier to get into the Hasbro building and get my hands on stuff. _

Chapter Six

Barricade sat in the back of the holding cell. He'd been locked within the cell for several Earth days, high-energy bars between him and freedom. Hoist had disabled his weapons system upon bringing him into the makeshift base and they'd remained offline during the move from the warehouse to the new base in the mountains surrounding the town. There was no way to escape. He was guarded by at least two Autobots at all times; they were not taking chances.

Footsteps sounded outside his cell. Not looking up, Barricade remained where he sat, remaining silent as the guards shifted. His red optics focused on the floor beneath him, staring down as if he could burn a hole through the floor. He overheard the guards speaking, identifying them by their voices as Hoist and Ironhide. There was another voice, a softer one, in addition to theirs; Bumblebee's, he was certain. He listened more carefully, his sensitive audio receivers picking up their words.

"He's not going to talk, Bumblebee," Hoist said. "He hasn't spoken to anyone else that's questioned him."

"Optimus said for me to try," Bumblebee insisted.

There was silence for a moment before Barricade heard Hoist and Ironhide step away. Moments later, Bumblebee's shadow was cast over him from the other side of the bars that kept him contained. He didn't shift his gaze nor look up. He remained as he was, ignoring the Autobot scout. Silence filled the room for several long minutes. Finally, Bumblebee spoke.

"Why did you come back?"

Barricade remained silent for a long minute. Bumblebee was sure that the Decepticon was going to ignore him as he had the others. It surprised the young scout when the other mech shifted, looking up and meeting his gaze. Crimson optics met soft blue for a brief moment.

"You should know the answer to that, already," Barricade said. "You know as well as I that Soundwave is here for the last piece of the Allspark."

"What good is it to you?" Bumblebee asked. "Megatron is dead and so are the others that came to Earth with you."

The Decepticon hunter laughed. "And what good is it to you Autobots?" he retorted. "You've already used its energy to revive your lieutenant. It can't have much left."

"That's none of your concern," the yellow 'bot told him.

"Nor is it any of yours what good it would be to the Decepticons."

Bumblebee gave a twitter of annoyance, placing his hands on his hips as he watched Barricade return his gaze to the floor. He was silent for a moment, trying to come up with more questions to ask, anything that might lead to some clues as to where Soundwave was and what his plans were. He knew it wasn't going to be easy to get answers out of Barricade, but he had some hope; he'd at least gotten the other mech to talk. The young scout had that above what Ironhide and the others had.

"It's been a long war, hasn't it?"

The sudden question pulled Bumblebee out of his thoughts. His gaze snapped up to lock on Barricade's dark form. The Decepticon did not look back at him, keeping his crimson gaze on the floor. Bumblebee was about to question the other, but Barricade continued before he could say anything.

"I don't remember a time when the war wasn't going on," he said. Now he looked up at Bumblebee. "I doubt you would remember, either. We were both too young to have known anything but the war."

Bumblebee raised an optic ridge. "What are you--?"

"Do you remember the Youth Sectors, Autobot?"

Taken aback, Bumblebee had to think on that. He vaguely wondered why he was letting Barricade question him when _he_ was supposed to be questioning the Decepticon. The questions that Barricade asked intrigued him, though; he couldn't help but think on them. He had to wonder why the other mech asked about the Youth Sectors. How did he even know whether or not Bumblebee had been there? He only knew that he'd been there from Jazz and Ironhide telling him when he was younger, when he'd asked how he came to be amongst the Autobots.

Bumblebee shook his head at last. He figured there was nothing to lose by humoring the Decepticon with an answer here and there, so long as he was careful about what he answered and how. If by doing so, he could get Barricade in a position where he could ask him questions and get the answers that he and the others needed, then he'd open up a bit. Just a bit.

Barricade gave a sound, like he was satisfied with the simple shake of the head. "I didn't think so. You were much younger than I when the sectors were destroyed." He leaned back against the wall of the cell and looked to the ceiling. "So you were one of the lucky ones to have survived."

The yellow mech looked at the Decepticon quizzically. The things that Barricade said made him curious and a little confused. The way Barricade spoke, Bumblebee was sure that the Decepticon must have some insight to the time when he was a youngling.

"What do you know about me?" he demanded quietly.

Barricade looked at Bumblebee for a moment before answering. "You wouldn't remember it. If you can't remember the sectors, why would you remember those who cared for you?"

"You mean Chromia?" Bumblebee asked. He remembered her, but only through Ironhide; the older mech had often told him about his life-mate when he was young and curious.

"There were others," Barricade told him. For a brief moment, Bumblebee could have sworn he saw something glimmer in the Decepticon's optics. He couldn't tell what it was. "Some of them were more active than others. Quicksilver was very involved in caring for you."

Upon hearing this, a memory came to Bumblebee. It was vague; he could hear a young femme begging him to hold still and he could recall slender silver arms holding him, trying to clean bright paint from his small frame. He could hear himself clicking happily at the femme in this memory. Another scene flashed in his processor, this one of the same femme shoving him into a red mech's arms and all but ordering them to get to safety. In both memories, he couldn't see her face, only her arms and upper torso.

"How do you know this?" Bumblebee asked.

Barricade gave him a long, steady look. "I was there, Autobot."

Bumblebee's optics widened in surprise. His arms dropped to his sides. "What?"

"I told you that you wouldn't remember."

Silence fell between the two mechs again. Barricade watched for any further reaction from the younger mech while Bumblebee remained frozen where he stood. The yellow bot tried to recall anything from his younger years, focusing on anything that might have involved Barricade. It had been so long since then that he couldn't clearly remember anything. He did recall a set of sibling younglings, but just barely. He remembered short clips of Cybertronian music that he was sure had to have been written to entertain younglings and he remembered Chromia shouting for them to stay together as the sectors were being attacked.

Finally, Bumblebee remembered one specific youngling. He recalled himself curling up in the youngling's arms for a short recharge after playing with him. The youngling that he remembered had been careful with him, gently coaxing him into recharge. He could just barely remember how the other youngling appeared and, looking at Barricade, he was almost shocked to see the connection between that youngling and the Decepticon that sat in the cell in front of him.

Bumblebee shook his head. "That can't…"

Barricade said nothing, letting Bumblebee trail off in his confusion. The silence returned once again, an awkward feel in the air accompanying it. It stayed that way for several long minutes while Bumblebee thought to himself, sometimes making a soft trill of bewilderment. Barricade watched him, thinking to himself as well. When the silence was broken, it was because of the Decepticon.

"You can keep me in this cell as long as you want," he said. He shifted and leaned further against the wall. "I won't try to escape. As you said, Megatron is dead." He looked again at the younger mech. "And with his death, my obligations to the Decepticons are finished."

Bumblebee looked back at Barricade, confused. "But what about Soundwave?"

"Megatron was my leader," Barricade told him. "Soundwave was merely my teacher. I have no obligation to him."

The scout watched Barricade for a long while before he glanced over to the hallway where Hoist and Ironhide waited to take over again. He was quiet for a moment, thinking things over. He'd have to ask Ironhide later for confirmation on things Barricade had said; if anyone knew anything about Bumblebee's younglinghood, it would be the weapons specialist. Bumblebee would also have to report this to both Prowl and Optimus Prime and while he did that. . .

"I'll talk to Optimus about this," he told the Decepticon. "I'm sure he'd be interested by all of it."

With that, he left the brig, letting Ironhide and Hoist resume their guard on Barricade. With Barricade's words echoing in his processor, Bumblebee headed up to Optimus' office to report what had been said. If Optimus believed that Barricade truly had no obligations to the Decepticons, what would happen? Barricade didn't seem one to join the Autobot cause, especially with all the Decepticons that were surely out there, not just the ones on Earth.

Bumblebee at least wanted the chance to ask Barricade more questions.

* * *

Prowl looked up from his reports as a knock sounded on the door to his quarters. He set the datapad he'd been reading aside, putting it on stand-by, stood and went over to the door, hitting the unlock command and opening it. To his surprise, Jazz stood there, an expression of determination on his face. The smaller mech had his hands on his hips and he looked up at Prowl.

"We need to talk," he said.

Prowl blinked at him. "Jazz, I…"

"No," Jazz interrupted, standing firm. "I'm tired of you dodgin' me. We're gonna talk. _Now._"

Prowl backed up a couple steps. There was little choice in the matter; He very well couldn't shut the door in Jazz's face and the saboteur had him cornered. He gestured for the smaller mech to come in and closed the door after Jazz stepped inside. Prowl remained standing at the door, watching as Jazz made a passing glance around the room before turning to face him.

"Why are you holdin' back, Prowl?" Jazz asked.

Prowl stiffened. He should have expected Jazz to be so straight-to-the-point, but he'd hoped that the other had given him at least a few moments to prepare. He off-lined his optics for a brief moment, letting out a soft sigh.

"Jazz, you have to understand something," he said. "I'm not…I don't want to push anything on you."

"An' what is it you don't wanna push on me?" the saboteur inquired, folding his arms over his chest.

The taller mech quieted, searching for a way to explain himself. He lowered his head, looking away from Jazz and to the floor, as if the floor could give him an answer. Why was it that he could always find an explanation for his strategies, for reasoning, for everything except for this? He could explain a complication plan to the simplest processor and yet he couldn't even tell Jazz the truth. He couldn't find the right words.

"Prowl?"

The tactician looked up and found that Jazz had moved closer to him, enough to be face to face with him. The smaller mech had also raised his visor and studied Prowl with his bright blue optics. Prowl knew that Jazz was looking for an answer in his face, in his optics.

"Please, Prowl," Jazz said. Tentatively, he reached out with one hand and touched Prowl's face. "I just don't want to be wrong about it."

Confused, Prowl raised an optic ridge. "About what, Jazz?"

Jazz hesitated. He drew back his lip, mimicking the human act of biting it nervously. "Do…" he began softly, "d'you love me, Prowl?"

Prowl's optics widened. "Jazz…"

"I have t'know," the saboteur continued. "It's drivin' me crazy not knowin'." He pulled his hand away from Prowl's face. "If I'm wrong…"

Prowl took hold of Jazz's wrist. "No," he said, softly. "You're not wrong."

Spark pulsing in its chamber, Jazz gave a light smile. "Then we aren't 'just friends' like y'said."

The taller mech shook his head, still holding the saboteur's wrist. His free arm wrapped around Jazz's frame, pulling him close. Prowl rested his head against Jazz's shoulder, shuttering his optics as he gave a soft sigh. "Jazz, I…"

"You could've jus' told me, y'know," Jazz told him. "Would've made it easier on both o' us."

Prowl was silent for a long minute, content with holding Jazz to him. "I'm sorry," he said finally.

Jazz put his arms around Prowl's waist, letting his hands slide against the tactician's body. He still wasn't sure exactly when he'd figured out what he felt for Prowl; he'd begun taking notice of the way his spark stirred in the tactician's presence the night he'd found Prowl still wide awake and working. That stirring had only strengthened during the time between that night and now. He wasn't even sure if his feelings were from before or just developing, but either way, he was happy knowing that they were reciprocated.

"I love you, Prowl," he said softly.

Prowl lifted his head and looked at Jazz. His optics locked on the saboteur's through the visor the smaller mech wore. Inwardly, he was overjoyed to hear those words from Jazz, but outwardly, he must have looked shocked or confused at the confession because Jazz gave an awkward smile and continued speaking.

"I do," he told the tactician. "I don't know if it's new or from before but, Primus, I love you."

He emphasized his words by shifting his arms to pull Prowl down, leaning in and pressing his lip components against the taller mech's in a slow, gentle kiss. He gave Prowl plenty opportunity to pull away, but the other did no such thing. Instead, Prowl returned the kiss, deepening it cautiously. His arms tightened around Jazz's body, holding the saboteur to him as the kiss continued.

"Jazz, I've wanted you for so long," Prowl murmured as he broke the kiss. He truly had; even before he'd followed Optimus' message to Earth. He'd wanted Jazz since the saboteur had left Cybertron with the others to search for the Allspark and he'd stayed behind with his team to continue the battle on their home planet. "And now that I've finally gotten you…you don't even remember."

Jazz cupped Prowl's face in his hands, pulling him in for another kiss. "So help me remember."

Prowl gave into the kiss, letting his hands run over Jazz's body, spark pulsing as his long-desired wishes were granted. As he reveled in being able to touch Jazz again, he was ecstatic when Jazz began to touch him in return, clawed digits running over his armor and under the plating. His systems heated with the desire that he had too long held back and he shifted, stepping back towards his berth, sitting down and pulling the smaller mech onto his lap.

Jazz leaned into Prowl, deepening the kiss. He sent a short electrical shock to the other mech through his lips, grinning inwardly at the moan the action elicited from the tactician. Remembering from the incident a few weeks previous, Jazz playfully trailed his hand along one of Prowl's door wings until his fingers brushed against the joint that connected the wings to the tactician's back.

"Oh, _Jazz,_" Prowl moaned lightly against Jazz's lips, his body trembling at the touch.

Jazz pushed Prowl into lying down and straddled the tactician, shifting enough that he could administer soft touches. He murmured Prowl's name in return, leaning in to touch his lips to the sensitive cables of the taller mech's neck. As he laid gentle, teasing kisses to his lover's neck, he felt the tactician's hands wandering his body again, making long, slow trails over his armor and reaching under to brush at the circuitry hidden beneath. He let out a moan of his own, pausing briefly in his own ministrations to enjoy the way Prowl knew exactly where to touch.

Moans turned into begging cries as the two of them continued, alternately quickening their strokes and slowing their trailing kisses. They yearned for each other, needing to be connected. Jazz's hands ghosted over Prowl's armor, relearning every sensitive spot on the tactician's body while Prowl savored each and every whimper, moan and cry that escaped his beloved saboteur as he returned the touches.

"_Primus_, Prowl," Jazz gasped out. He leaned closer to Prowl, pressing his body as close to the other mech as he could. Every touch felt more and more familiar and brought him closer and closer to overload. He could feel his internal fans working to cool his body down and his systems were surging with gathering energy.

Prowl pulled Jazz in for a passionate kiss, his own systems flashing with warnings of an imminent overload. Too long had he gone without interfacing, far too long had he been unable to touch Jazz, to feel the smaller mech against him, to hear Jazz scream his name at the height of passion. He longed to connect once more with Jazz and parted the armor that covered his spark casing. A soft clicking and a warm glow told him that Jazz had done the same. Naught but a moment later and the two of them pressed themselves to each other, crying out as their sparks touched.

Memories flooded through Jazz's processors. Though his own memories had been lost, Prowl had plenty that he now shared with him. Memories of the two of them; at the Helix Gardens where they'd met, at Iacon, both working under Optimus Prime, at the ruins of Praxus. The first time they'd interfaced, the long hours they would spend together, battles where they fought side-by-side, the last time they'd seen each other before Jazz followed Optimus into space. Things he couldn't remember, but Prowl held dear, flashed through his processor.

On the other end of the connection, Prowl saw the memories Jazz had. He caught glimpses of Jazz's arrival to Earth, the saboteur's first encounter with the humans, the battle at Mission City and, painfully, the moment that Megatron had brutally torn Jazz in half. He cried out at the sight, clutching at his lover as his systems screamed final warnings at him. His body shook as he hit his overload, barely able to hear Jazz's impassioned screams over his whirring fans and roaring engine as the saboteur followed him over the edge.

Jazz collapsed on top of Prowl, energy spent and optics blinking as he nearly went off-line from the activity. His spark retreated to its casing and was quickly shut in. He leaned against Prowl as his fans circulated air through his body, working diligently to cool his systems down. As he laid his head against Prowl's chassis, he could hear the tactician's fans doing the same thing.

"Oh, Prowl," he murmured, nuzzling gently against the taller mech. "I love you."

Prowl wrapped his arms around Jazz, leaning to press a kiss to the saboteur's helm. "I love you, Jazz. So much."

Jazz returned the embrace, feeling so very complete as he lay against Prowl. A smile crossed over his lips. He was happy to hear those words. Shifting his body to get comfortable on Prowl's berth, he off-lined his optics, desperately in need of a recharge after such an intense bout of interfacing. He clung to Prowl, unwilling to let him go, now that he knew how much Prowl loved him.

Several long moments passed as the saboteur and the tactician fell into recharge in each other's arms, both very much overjoyed to be with the other.

_**Author's Note:**__ There. Finished and in less than a month! Sure, it's only two scenes, but they're long scenes and I've covered everything I had planned for this chapter. Now I have to go get in some last minute studying because Jazz absolutely refused to let me study for my mid-term until I finished this chapter. XD;;_


	7. Chapter VII

_**Author's Note:**__ Good gods, this is going to be a long story. I'm not even half-way to the ending I have planned. Oh, well. At least y'all enjoy it, right?  
__**Warnings:**__ Starscream deserves a warning all his own.  
__**Disclaimer:**__ I was sitting at my computer, trying to come up with some witty disclaimer to say that I don't own Transformers when I got sucked into a parallel universe where I __**still**__ didn't own them. _

Chapter Seven

Ironhide was edgy.

Actually, edgy probably wasn't the right word. Seething was probably more like it. His blue optics were dark, a sure sign that he was unhappy, as he kept them focused on Barricade. He didn't like the situation revolving around the Decepticon, not one bit, and he was not one to keep this information to himself. He'd brought it up at the meeting that Optimus had held mere days ago to decide the interceptor's fate.

"He's lying," Ironhide had insisted. "He's a Decepticon and he always will be."

That had brought forth a debate concerning a small flier by the name of Crossfire that had been captured and brought to the Autobot cause several thousand years ago. Several minutes of the discussion were drawn to a conclusion when Optimus turned to Bumblebee and asked the scout what he thought about what Barricade had told him. The other Autobots in the room had shifted their gaze to the young 'bot, waiting for his answer. After a few moments, Bumblebee replied.

"I don't think he's lying," he'd said. He raised his hands before Ironhide, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and Ratchet could protest. "I know. He's a Decepticon; he lives to lie and deceit. I just have this feeling that he's telling the truth."

In the end, Optimus moved to grant Barricade clemency. Through many of the other Autobots protested, the Prime's word was final. Terms were set in place for Barricade's freedom. The Decepticon would be under surveillance at all times, weapons taken out of commission, and Ratchet would disable his communications system so there was no chance of the interceptor getting information through to Soundwave. For the time being, Barricade would also remain at all times within the base, with no chance to escape.

The interceptor was now in the recreation room, optics focused on the holovid and the movie that was playing, channeled into the holovid from a human satellite. Bumblebee, Bluestreak and the twins were all keeping a close watch on Barricade, none of them willing to give him a moment to himself, in case he tried anything. Ironhide was irate, watching Barricade carefully from the other end of the recreation room, a cube of energon tight in his grip.

"I don't like this," Ironhide told Optimus, who stood next to him.

"I know, Ironhide," the Autobot leader replied. "You've made it quite clear that you dislike the idea of a former Decepticon roaming about the _Ark_."

"How do we even know that he's telling the truth about his obligations to the Decepticons?" the weapons specialist asked. "We can't trust him, Optimus. I know Bumblebee believes him, but 'Bee's just a youngling, still. He can't know for sure if he's being lied to."

"Your concerns have been noted," Optimus said. "And are well within reason. However, given what Bumblebee has reported from his conversations with Barricade, there is no proof to indicate that Barricade is saying anything but the truth."

"The proof is the fact that he is a Decepticon."

Optimus sighed. "By no choice of his own. He was, as he has told Bumblebee, one of the younglings that were taken from the Youth Sectors when they were attacked and forced into Decepticon training. Crossfire was the same, if you recall."

"And I still don't trust _him_, either," Ironhide muttered.

"Ironhide, I understand your concerns. As it stands, the situation with Barricade is one that is being dealt with." Optimus turned to the weapons specialist. "There are other problems to worry about."

Ironhide nodded. "Soundwave. He and that little brat he calls his creation."

"It's been almost five Earth months since they arrived," Optimus said. He curled his fist against his chin. "And yet, there's been no activity from them. We haven't been able to pinpoint where they're hiding nor have they tried to attack the base."

"They'd be suicidal to attack the base on their own," Prowl said, approaching from the doorway where he and Jazz had just entered the recreation room. "Soundwave may be powerful, but he could not take more than four of us on his own."

Ironhide glanced between Optimus and Prowl. "So what?" he asked. "They're planning something. What can we do about it?"

Prowl's lip components shifted in a thoughtful frown as he ran over a few scenarios. "At this point, very little. We can prepare the others for an attack; however, without any prior knowledge as to what Soundwave's plan is, the odds are against us."

"There are two of them and eleven of us," Ironhide pointed out.

"And as I said, it would be suicidal for them to attack us on their own," the tactician told him. "Likely, he's waiting for back up."

"Starscream," Optimus spoke up. "He vanished after the battle in the human city. With Megatron deactivated, he's in command of the Decepticon army. He'll have gone back to Cybertron to gather his soldiers."

* * *

Rumble was becoming bored with his daily routine. For the last four and a half months, he'd spent hours watching for his chance to do something. He had long ago lost interest in the humans, Sam and Mikaela. He'd played with the thought of killing one of them outright, but Soundwave had made it quite clear that they were to follow Starscream's orders and leave the humans alive. Rumble had argued that he never liked Starscream and would rather jump into a smelting pit than follow orders from the Seeker.

Of course, the argument did little to help. Soundwave maintained that, with Megatron deactivated, they had little choice but to follow Starscream, who had been designated as the one to take over as the leader of the Decepticons in such a situation. Rumble didn't have to like Starscream, but he had to follow orders. Rumble had muttered a few choice words in the Cybertronian language and made himself comfortable within the cab of Soundwave's alt mode for recharge.

The small Decepticon was roused from recharge by the sound that indicated that there was an incoming message. He shifted, sitting up and giving his systems a moment to pull out of standby. Soundwave's own systems whirred as he opened his communications line and answered the message. From the other end of the connection, Starscream's voice spoke, greeting the two Decepticons. Rumble let Soundwave take the call, content to listen in.

"What is the status on Earth?" Starscream asked once formalities were done with.

Soundwave was silent for a moment before replying. "The Autobots have been gathering. There is a total of eleven of them at the moment."

The anger was apparent in Starscream's voice as he demanded an explanation for why Soundwave and Rumble had allowed so many Autobots to gather. Rumble was forced to switch off his vocalizer to keep from telling the Seeker off; what exactly could they have done? Even if they still had contact with Barricade, it would have done little good. Two full-sized mechs and a mini-con couldn't possibly do anything against eleven Autobots, plus their human pets. Had they had the clearance to take things into their own hands much earlier, they wouldn't be anywhere near such a disadvantage.

"Never mind," Starscream snarled before Soundwave could say anything. "I've gathered a team of Decepticons who will be joining me in the journey back to Earth."

"When can we expect your arrival, Lord Starscream?"

Though there was no visual accompanying the call, Rumble could just see the vicious, proud smirk on Starscream's face at Soundwave's use of the title. "We've gathered supplies and shall be launching within the next joor. Since the pathway to Earth is known, it will take considerably less time to arrive. Expectations are within the next six Earth months."

Soundwave put that information aside. "Your orders until then?"

"I've already sent a number of drones ahead to give some balance to the factions," Starscream said. "You will give them instructions to prepare for battle against the humans. Earth is to be _my_ planet and the human machines will be _my_ grand army."

"I understand, Lord Starscream," Soundwave said. "And of the Autobots' pets?"

"I want Samuel James Witwicky and Mikaela Nichole Banes _alive_, Soundwave. I have yet to properly thank them for their involvement in my ascension to Decepticon Lord."

* * *

Skywarp and Thundercracker stood in the background as their leader and trine-mate finished up communications. As Starscream turned around to face them, they raised one arm each in salute to the Decepticon lord. Starscream walked past them, out of the Decepticon command center and towards the launching pad.

"How go preparations?" he asked.

"Everything's ready," Thundercracker replied. "We await only your command."

"Good," Starscream said. "We will launch once the last soldier has boarded. The journey to Earth will take a little less than a stellar-cycle. That is, if we don't run into any stray Autobots."

"We've run the Autobot forces into the ruins of Iacon," Skywarp spoke up. "Kolkular is guarded by a number of our forces. Any Autobots that attempt to sabotage the launch will be destroyed."

Starscream nodded, a cruel smirk appearing over his lip components. "Very good." The exit to the launch pad opened as they approached. "Have the troops prepare to board. We launch in three breems."

Skywarp saluted his leader. "Yes, Lord Starscream."

Starscream left his trine-mates at the door, heading for the _Nemesis._ As he boarded, he ran a diagnosis check on the ship's condition, making sure for himself that it was ready to launch. He'd had little trouble with the ship for the first half of the journey from Earth to Cybertron; it was only as he began the second half that the ship's computer systems had gone on the fritz. He'd had the technicians take a look at the _Nemesis_ as soon as he'd reached Kaon, while he addressed the Decepticon forces and gave reports on the happenings on Earth.

He allowed himself another smirk. Megatron was dead, at long last. He was rightfully the leader of the Decepticons and nothing could take that away from him; not again. There was simply no way that Megatron could have possibly survived the blast from the Allspark. There would be no second-guessing Starscream's authority. There would be no loyalties to the dead Megatron. He was in charge. He was the leader. The Decepticon army was _his._

And soon, Earth's machines would be his, as well.

* * *

Barricade gave a growl. "I don't know what Soundwave has planned."

"You're lying," Ironhide growled back, grabbing Barricade and lifting his cannon.

"Ironhide!" Prowl snapped. "Release him!"

Ironhide looked at Prowl, then glared at Barricade before roughly letting the former Decepticon drop to the ground. His cannon remained aimed towards the interceptor's chest, locked on to where Barricade's spark casing lay beneath the black armor.

"Your tactics are getting us nowhere," Prowl told the weapons specialist.

"He's keeping the information from us," Ironhide bit out.

Barricade snorted as he pushed himself off the ground. "Is this how you treated Crossfire?" he asked. "Or did you torture him more than this?"

"We're not Decepticons," the larger black mech snarled.

"You certainly act like one."

It took Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Ratchet and Bumblebee to keep Ironhide from mauling the black and white mech. Sideswipe managed to pull Ironhide's cannon from its aim towards Barricade and the shot that blasted from the barrel blew a hole in one of the walls, instead of in the former Decepticon. Optimus' intakes cycled air through his frame, emulating a human sigh of exasperation.

"Ironhide, calm yourself," he ordered.

"I'm going to _deactivate _the sorry fragger!" Ironhide growled.

"Ironhide!" Optimus exclaimed. "Calm yourself, now, or remove yourself from the room. I do not wish to put one of my own men in the brig."

Ironhide grumbled and shrugged the four mechs off him, turning on his heel and leaving the hall where the mech had gathered in a huff. Optimus pinched his noseridge with his thumb and forefinger in a sure sign of irritation. Barricade gave an amused chuckle and turned to head back into the recreation room. He was stopped when Bumblebee pushed his way past him and blocked his path. The smaller yellow mech stood firmly, even under the glare that Barricade gave him.

"We need your help," he told the black and white mech.

"I've already told you what I know of Soundwave's plan," Barricade said, feeling a little more than irritated himself. He felt it was bad enough that he was stuck contained within the Autobot base; he longed to go out and drive. "I can't tell you anymore."

"What about Starscream's plan?" Bumblebee asked. He crossed his arms over his chest and fixed his gaze on Barricade's. "He's got to have some sort of back-up team that he'll be bringing to Earth."

Barricade gave a metallic snort. "Of course."

"So who?"

The interceptor took a moment to reply and even then, he circumnavigated the topic. "I want to leave the base," he said. "If you want the information I have, you'll give me what I want."

Bumblebee looked over to Optimus, soft blue optics focused on his leader's face and the worried expression there. Optimus was quiet for a moment, considering Barricade's proposal. Beside him, Prowl looked equally contemplative; the current terms of the interceptor's freedom were set as a safety precaution, not only towards the Autobots, but to the humans in the surrounding area. They couldn't exactly risk letting Barricade leave the base without a way to keep him in line and their trust in the former Decepticon was shaky, at best.

"We can't afford to allow you to leave the base," Prowl finally said.

"Then you'll get nothing from me," Barricade told him. He turned again, this time intent on heading to the room he'd been offered as his own.

"Wait," Optimus spoke up. He held up one hand, bringing attention to himself. "We'll discuss conditions on allowing you more freedom, but only after you give us the information we need. This isn't just about our safety. This is about the safety and freedom of the inhabitants of this entire planet. We need to be prepared for whatever Starscream may have planned and you are our only link to him."

"And what do I care about the inhabitants of this planet?" Barricade asked, turning his red gaze upon the Autobot leader.

"Perhaps you care nothing about them," Optimus replied. "But you care about your freedom. Should Starscream find out about your secession from the Decepticon faction, surely he will not allow you to remain a free mech."

Barricade was silent for several long moments. Bumblebee watched the black and white mech with curious optics. He knew from his long talks with Barricade that the interceptor had long wished for a freedom that had been promised and taken away from him time and time again. What Optimus was offering him now was not that freedom, but a step closer to it.

The hall was silent as Barricade weighed his options. Finally, after several minutes, the interceptor spoke up. "When we left aboard the _Nemesis_ to follow Megatron and the Allspark, Starscream left Shockwave in charge of the Decepticon fortress of Kolkular in Kaon. If our team were to run into difficulties, Shockwave's orders were to bring in his team to help."

"Who makes up this team?" Prowl asked.

"So far as I know, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Soundwave and Rumble were all part of the team. There were others, but I cannot tell you who."

The Autobots that stood in the hall exchanged glances. Soundwave was enough on his own. Shockwave was worse; possibly one of the nastiest mechs ever to be branded a Decepticon. The cold, calculating scientist was the mastermind behind many of the most successful Decepticon attacks. He was utterly ruthless in the way he carried out the destruction of many Cybertronian cities. Thundercracker and Skywarp themselves were not as much of a threat as either Shockwave or Soundwave, but they were still powerful.

Optimus gave a sigh. "Thank you. That is enough to give us a chance to prepare for an attack." He turned to leave the hallway. "If you would come to my office when it's convenient, we will discuss your freedom."

Barricade gave a non-committal grunt and ducked past the twins, heading for his own chambers. The rest of the group headed off in their own directions. Bumblebee remained in the hallway, watching as Barricade walked down the hall. He briefly thought about following him, but refrained, knowing that it would upset the former Decepticon. Not only that, but Ironhide had grown rather protective of Bumblebee since Optimus had allowed Barricade to leave the brig. The last thing Bumblebee needed was for Ironhide to lecture him, again, about granting the black and white mech too much trust.

Bumblebee didn't trust Barricade that much. After several millennia of fighting the other mech, he knew that Barricade wasn't exactly a prime example of someone trustworthy. Yes, the yellow Autobot believed him when it came to the times at the Youth Sectors, but there were only so many who would know about the relationship they'd had then. True, Bumblebee believed him when he said that he'd been one of the younglings forced into Decepticon training; when Crossfire had claimed such, the investigation team had confirmed reports of several younglings taken from the Youth Sectors being amongst Decepticon lines.

What Bumblebee believed were things he knew he could rely on. He didn't trust that Barricade was being entirely truthful about his obligations to the Decepticon faction; Megatron may have been his leader and the one he served, but in the past, Barricade had served Starscream. Why not now? Granted, Bumblebee thought that perhaps the interceptor had followed Starscream only because he believed that Megatron still lived. He'd have to ask Barricade some time, perhaps when the other mech had proved himself worth a bit more dependence.

Until then, Bumblebee would have his doubts. While he would speak up for Barricade, he would also listen to the concerns of his fellow Autobots and help weigh their options. Resigned to this decision, Bumblebee finally turned back to the recreation room and sat down with Bluestreak and the twins to play a game Sideswipe had discovered.

_**Author's Note:**__ There. Things are rolling again. We'll have some fun with the Decepticons soon. And maybe get in a couple more PxJ scenes and possibly get some hints at Barricade and Bumblebee getting ideas. Nothing crazy, though._

Say, I've asked this of the readers on livejournal already, but I've got a couple questions. What do you guys think of the storyline thus far? Am I moving it along too slow? Do you want more depth on certain characters and their pasts (ie, Optimus and Megatron, Ironhide and Chromia, Bluestreak and the twins?). Do you guys want me to write side stories to give them more depth? Let me know if there's something you want to see detailed from this story.


	8. Chapter VIII

_**Author's Note:** Eheh. Yeah, this chapter took forever and I apologize. I'm horrible. *sob* Anyways, we move on and I want to make a note here that I'm changing a couple things about certain characters so they fit better into the movie-verse, namely, the cassettes; they're called compacts here, so when that comes up, that's what I mean.  
__**Warnings:** Scene change, attempts to get the plot moving, a touch of Barricade/Bumblebee action, and really tired author.  
**Disclaimer:** Hey, ho, I don't own._

Chapter Eight

_//What's the situation, Eject?//_

The small Autobot shifted behind a stack of supplies the Decepticons had shoved into the launch bay. Thanks to his three and a half foot stature, Eject could get into places that his fellow Autobots couldn't. It was a trait that made him and his brothers, Rewind and Steeljaw, useful to the others. In this case, Eject had been the choice for infiltrating the Decepticon base alongside Mirage and Hound. Normally, Steeljaw would be the one who'd accompany the special ops team, but the quadruped was currently being treated for wounds sustained in the previous attack.

_//The 'Cons have their bases loaded, boss-mech,// _Eject replied over the commlink. _//The ship's ready to launch.//_

Mirage activated his own commlink, sending a message to Blaster, the compacts' caretaker and the Autobot communications officer. _//Blaster, we've had visuals on Starscream. Hound's keeping tabs on him now, but he's already announced the plan to move out. We have to get a message to Prime.//_

_//I know, I know,//_ Blaster told him. _//It'll take me a few breems, but I think I can get a clear message out t'him. Any word on the team being sent?//_

_//Negative. We know the Seekers are all going and we've seen Shockwave around, but other than that, we can't confirm.//_

From the other end of the commline, Blaster gave a heavy sigh. _//As if they're not enough t'put a dent in Prime's forces. I'm gonna send the message; you, Hound an' Eject get your afts outta there an' back t'base.//_

_//Understood.//_

With that, Mirage cut off the communications line and moved to get out of the Decepticon base. Eject was carefully holding onto the spy, unmoving so that he wasn't exposed through Mirage's invisibility shield. It would not do for either of them to be discovered; the other Autobots needed the information they had to get back to them. Once Hound joined up with them outside of Kolkular and they reached the Autobot base in Iacon, they'd get that information to Ultra Magnus and Blaster, who'd pass it along to Optimus Prime.

Mirage took his time getting out of the Decepticon base, taking care not to make any noise to bring any attention to where he was. The base was relatively empty, with most of the Decepticons having already boarded the _Nemesis_. Those staying behind were gathered at the launch pad, in communications, or otherwise posted where ordered. Still, Mirage would not take anything for granted; just because the base was sparsely populated at the moment did not mean he could throw caution to the wind.

When he and Eject finally got out of the base, they immediately set out to get a good distance away before Mirage dropped his cloak. Eject jumped off the spy, standing to his full height and letting his joints move to get rid of the stiffness that had taken effect while they'd been watching the Decepticons. Now they just needed to wait for Hound.

"When Hound gets here, I want you to go with him back to the base," Mirage said.

Eject blinked his optics and looked up at the spy. That wasn't part of the original plan. "Something wrong?" he asked. "It's too late in the game to change the plan."

Mirage didn't look at the compact. "There's something I need to do. Go with Hound. I'll get back to the base on my own."

"What do you need to do?"

"That's for me to know," Mirage replied. "It doesn't concern you."

* * *

Chromia activated her commlink as she spotted the incoming vehicle from her post. _//Ultra Magnus, Hound has returned. It looks like he's got 'Ject with 'im, too. No sign of Mirage.//_

_//Received,//_ Ultra Magnus replied. _//I'll have Red Alert let them in. Inferno's on his way up to relieve you, Chromia. I want you in the communications center in two breems.//_

_//Yes'sir!//_

The blue-armored femme returned her gaze to the horizon where she'd spied Hound. A blue light glowed softly where the other Autobot had passed the switch that activated the second net marker, a precautionary field post that Red Alert had set up when they'd built their base in the ruins of Iacon; blue light indicated the scanners on the posts identified those arriving to the base as Autobot and red indicated the scanners had picked up a Decepticon signature.

"All's clear," Inferno said as he came up to the post to relieve Chromia. "Ultra Magnus is ready to send a message to the Prime." He gave her a small smile. "This is your chance to send a message to Ironhide. I'd take it if I were you."

Chromia smiled back at him, giving the red-armored mech a playful punch on the arm as she passed him to head for the communications center. "I jus' might do that."

With that, she ducked into the entrance to the base and began the descent into the heart of the small outpost, where Blaster and Ultra Magnus waited. The base was dug out into the inner layers of Cybertron, invisible to the Decepticon scanners due to the depth. The catacombs beneath the city had been discovered by Autobot engineers not too long after the destruction of the capital and it was decided that a new base would be constructed carefully and secretly in the catacombs.

Ultra Magnus was the standing commander of the Alpha team that made this base their home. Prowl, the Autobot second in command, had left Ultra Magnus in charge when he'd left to join Optimus Prime on the planet known now as Earth. The soldier made certain that things got done around the base, despite his initial reluctance to lead the small group.

Chromia reached the communications center shortly and stepped in, giving Ultra Magnus an acknowledging nod. The team leader nodded in return before returning his attention to the small Autobot that was giving a report. The blue-armored femme stepped back and listened in on the report, watching Eject as the compact made various gestures with his thin arms as he spoke, telling of the Decepticons and their preparations to leave the planet.

"Blaster, open up a transmission," Ultra Magnus ordered as soon as Eject finished his report. "We must get this information to Optimus Prime and his team on Earth."

"Yes, sir!" Blaster replied, tapping into the computer system and making the necessary connections. He extended a cable from his own body and hook into the computer, amplifying the system's capabilities so that the transmission would connect to Earth. "Transmission is open. We're connected to the _Ark_. Begin your message."

Ultra Magnus stepped closer to Blaster so that he could see the computer's screen and send his message. "This is Autobot Alpha Team leader Ultra Magnus, hailing Optimus Prime on Earth. Repeat, Alpha Team leader Ultra Magnus to Optimus Prime."

* * *

Perceptor gave a startled jump as the terminal in the communications room of the _Ark_ began emitting the sound that signaled an incoming transmission. The communications computer had been silent for the last several weeks since he and Bluestreak had come to Earth. The scientist approached the computer and opened the communications channel, very relieved to find that the communication was from Ultra Magnus. He opened a general comm and called for Optimus Prime.

_//Optimus, Sir, incoming transmission from Cybertron.//_

Within only a few Earth minutes, Optimus Prime stepped into the communication room, followed by Prowl and Ironhide. Optimus approached the terminal and gave a smile at the sight of his trusted friend.

"Ultra Magnus, it is good to see you online," he said.

"And you as well, Optimus Prime," Ultra Magnus replied. He gave a respectful bow of his head to the Prime. "We feared we had lost you and your team until we received your transmission about Earth."

"Will you and your team be joining us, Magnus?"  
"Sadly, no, sir," Ultra Magnus said, shuttering his optics and shaking his head. "While the Allspark is gone, we still fight here. The Decepticons continue to believe war is everything. We call with a warning, Optimus, sir."

"What is it?"

"Starscream," came the curt reply. "He's gathered a new team aboard the _Nemesis_ and they have launched by now."

Optimus frowned, his optics ridges furrowing together. Behind him, Prowl tensed and Ironhide gave a low growl of irritation. So Starscream _was_ coming back to Earth. Barricade had told the truth of another team ready to back up the initial group. Optimus gave a frustrated sigh and turned back to the terminal.

"How many are there and how long do we have?" he asked.

"According to Eject and Hound, Starscream's calculated a stellar cycle to get to Earth," Ultra Magnus replied.

Blaster spoke up next to Ultra Magnus. "An' we couldn't confirm a number on the team. We know the Seekers are goin' with him."

"What about Shockwave?" Optimus asked, remembering what Barricade had told them.

There was an uneasy silence from Ultra Magnus and Blaster for a moment. "He was sighted around the Decepticon base, but there's no confirmation that he was boarding the _Nemesis._"

The sound of the door to the communications room caught their attention and Ultra Magnus turned around to see Mirage standing in the doorway, one hand pressed against his side where energon was flowing in steady streams. Chromia left her post at the wall to run over to Mirage, holding the spy up before he could collapse. Mirage pushed her away, looking up at Ultra Magnus and shaking his head.

"There _is_ confirmation," he said, vocalizer full of static. "I saw him board the _Nemesis_."

Chromia grabbed the former noblemech and wrapped her arm around his waist, lifting his arm to place it over her shoulder to keep him steady. "Call in First Aid from the beta team," she told Rewind.

"Right," the compact said, leaving his brother's side.

Optimus, Prowl, Ironhide and Perceptor watched the events happening through the monitor. Ironhide's spark pulsed with relief as he saw Chromia appear on-screen, however briefly. He'd worried for thousands of years about his life-mate and seeing her for just those brief seconds made him happy, despite the obvious trouble going on.

"What's going on?" Optimus asked.

Ultra Magnus looked at him through the monitor, turning back to him and leaving Mirage in the hands of his teammates. "You've got more trouble on the way, Prime. Prepare for the worst. We'll send back-up to you immediately."

"How will you get back up to Earth in time?" Ironhide asked, his joy at seeing his life-mate alive fading as he paid attention to the report of Decepticons coming to Earth.

"The space-bridge," Prowl said.

"Space-bridge?" Optimus turned to his second-in-command. "Who authorized the construction?"

"I did," Prowl replied. "After you and the others left Cybertron to seek the Allspark. Wheeljack and Perceptor worked out the schematics and began construction on Cybertron's first moon."

"The bridge is complete and secure," Ultra Magnus told him. "We based a team on the moon to keep the bridge guarded against Decepticon attack."

"When we received your transmission, we put the coordinates into the bridge computer," Perceptor explained. "It is not completely accurate without a second station at the receiving end of the bridge, but it will bring any back up sent through to the outer ring of this solar system. That is how we came to Earth so quickly after receiving your transmission."

"Do the Decepticons know of the space-bridge?" Optimus asked, turning back to Ultra Magnus.

"To our knowledge, no," Ultra Magnus replied. "We can send a team through the bridge within the next solar cycle and they will arrive to Earth within a deca-cycle."

Optimus thought about that for a long minute. Behind him, Ironhide shifted restlessly, hydraulics hissing with his movement. He was not happy with the way things were working out. First it seemed as though the war was finally over and now it was as if it was beginning all over again. He itched to fight--he had been fighting for countless centuries--but at the same time, he was ready for it to end. Perhaps there was no end to the fighting.

Optimus was beginning to think the same thing; that there was no end to this war that the Autobots and Decepticons had been fighting for the last several millennia. He gave a sigh and looked through the monitor to Ultra Magnus.

"We cannot let the Decepticons come to Earth," he said. "This planet has already suffered our war, however briefly. We cannot allow Earth and its people to suffer because of us anymore. We will return to space, bring the Allspark away from Earth and humankind."

Hound spoke up from behind Ultra Magnus. "Sir, with all respect, even if you were to leave Earth, its people may still yet suffer. Starscream intends to make Earth his new base, regardless of where the war continues."

"And he's coming to Earth for the humans known as Samuel James Witwicky and Mikaela Nichole Banes," Eject added.

"There's no choice, Optimus Prime, sir," Ultra Magnus said, voice solemn. "Earth is the new battleground."

* * *

"Why are you following me?" Barricade snarled.

Bumblebee gave a shrug in response. "Thought you could use the company."

"I don't need 'company.'"

The younger mech let his arms fall to his side as he looked at the irate Barricade. "You can't honestly tell me you aren't feeling lonely."

Barricade pivoted and glared at Bumblebee, red optics locking on the Autobot's face. "I'm the only Decepticon on this base. I've spent the last several Earth months in hiding from you and the rest of the Autobots. I haven't been allowed to leave this base since I was brought here. You think I want to spend what little time I have to myself with _you_?"

The scout's hands rested on his hips. "I'm trying to be civil, at least. I don't like the Decepticons anymore than you like the Autobots."

Barricade's glare remained fixed on the smaller mech. "I never asked you to be civil to me. I don't _want_ you to hang around me."

"Someone needs to keep an optic on you," Bumblebee retorted. "Prime's orders."

"Frag what your Prime says, I don't need or want _any_ of you Autobots hanging around me."

Now Bumblebee glared backed at him, blue optics darkening slightly in anger at the Decepticon's words. He wasn't going to stand and let Barricade disrespect Optimus; not while the Prime was giving Barricade the privilege of remaining on the Autobot base without restraints.

"Optimus is doing you a favor by letting you remain on the base," he told Barricade. "If you were out there, the other Decepticons wouldn't give you a chance."

Barricade lashed out, putting one clawed hand around Bumblebee's neck. The young scout tensed, memories of the injury he'd received at Megatron's hand at Tyger Pax flowing to his processor as he moved to try to get out of Barricade's grip. The black and white mech lifted the Autobot up a few inches, claws digging slightly into Bumblebee's neck, crushing cables and sending painful signals through the younger mech's body.

"I don't need favors," he snarled. "I don't need you or your Prime to do anything for me. Whether the Decepticons give me any chances or not is none of your business."

Bumblebee kicked out at him, hitting him hard in the leg and causing the other mech to drop him. He picked himself up and looked at Barricade, his optics narrowed at the black and white mech. "What the frag is your problem?!" he demanded.

Barricade didn't answer. Instead, he turned on his heel and headed down the hallway towards the room that had been cleared for his use. Bumblebee followed him, anger now driving him to go after the black and white mech. His fists were clenched as he hurried after Barricade.

"Quit following me," Barricade hissed.

"No," Bumblebee retorted, catching up. He reached out to put his hand on the other mech's shoulder.

Barricade whirled around and, with a burst of speed, slammed Bumblebee against the corridor wall. His red optics narrowed at Bumblebee and he shoved his face up against the younger bot's. "You're a pest, Bumblebee. You always were."

A twitter escaped the yellow scout and he struggled to get Barricade away from him. He suppressed a wave of fear that pulsed through his spark; Barricade was stronger than he was and both of them knew it. Bumblebee had fought him on several occasions and many times had only barely managed to defeat Barricade and get away. With such little distance between them, Bumblebee would have difficulty getting the upper hand.

"I'm done dealing with you," Barricade snarled, his vocals low and dangerous.

Bumblebee let out a cry as Barricade leaned in and let his teeth sink into the sensitive cables of his neck. Both pain and pleasure shot through his frame, circuits going wild with the sensations that the other mech introduced to his body. Barricade's body kept Bumblebee pinned to the wall as his clawed hands began to run along the scout's body, seeking pleasure points.

Bumblebee's body shivered under the touch and his processor was running blank. He didn't know what to do now. One part of him knew that he should fight back; Barricade was, after all, still a Decepticon at spark and still a danger to him. The other part of him was enjoying the treatment, willing to give in. A strangled moan escaped his vocalizer and he almost immediately regretted it, as it seemed to give Barricade encouragement.

Bumblebee let his optics shutter closed and he lifted his hands to place them on Barricade's chassis, one of them slipping along the other mech's bumper to slide over a headlight. A sound of pleasure escaped Barricade, then he let out a sound of surprise as he found Bumblebee's cannon aimed at his chest, where the scout's hand had just been running along his headlight. He pulled away from the younger mech, optics narrowed at him in question. Bumblebee merely glared at him in return.

"Never," the scout said, voice cold like ice, "touch me like that again." He let his cannon shift back into his hand and turned away. "I will _not_ be a tool for you."

With that, Bumblebee left Barricade standing in the corridor. Barricade snarled, curling one hand into a fist and slamming it into the wall. After a moment, he walked down the corridor a few feet to his room, entered the codes to open the door and went in, letting the door slide shut behind him.

_**Author's Note:**__ Again, I am terribly sorry that I take forever to get anything written. But the muses are back in gear and I'm hoping that the next chapter won't take half a year to finish like this one did. DX_


	9. Chapter IX

_**Author's Note:**__ I thought I'd never get around to finishing this chapter. DX Apologies all around for taking so freakin' long to write!  
__**Warnings:**__ Return of the double-slashes to denote ASL. Also, action. Lots of it.  
__**Disclaimer:**__ The sandbox isn't mine. I just jump the fence to play in it. _

**Edit:** Thanks to the random reviewer who notified me about a nasty repeat that went overlooked for hours. DX That's been fixed! Sorry about that!

Chapter Nine

Bumblebee had dropped Sam and Mikaela off at school earlier that morning. The summer had gone by quickly enough. The Autobots had made sure to keep the two teenagers as safe as possible--especially now that they knew Starscream had targeted them specifically. Bumblebee kept close to Sam and Bluestreak had been assigned to keep careful guard over Mikaela when she and Sam were not together. The gunner, disguised as a Nissan 350Z in his alt mode, was sticking close to the school while classes were in session, parked in the student parking lot on the east side of the building. Bumblebee kept an open communication line with Bluestreak while he went on patrol.

While the Decepticons were not expected to arrive for a couple more months, the Autobots were not taking any risks. Soundwave and Rumble were still around, they were sure, but they'd been too quiet since they'd first been detected on Earth. Optimus had issued the order that everyone was to have their sensors on high alert. With Earth designated as the new battleground, more and more Autobots were gathering at the base. Rodimus and his team had arrived not too long ago, bringing their numbers from eleven to seventeen. Even with numbers on their side, they couldn't be too careful.

The new team, Rodimus, Arcee, Chromia, First Aid, Cliffjumper and Rewind, had been assigned various posts. Arcee and Rodimus were joining on patrols in Tranquility and the surrounding area. Chromia had been sent to join Ironhide at the Lennox household. First Aid was posted with Ratchet in the medical bay. Rewind worked with Prowl and Perceptor on attempting to locate Soundwave and Rumble, in addition to acting as an enhancement to the communication system. Cliffjumper stayed on the base, ready for anything.

Jazz came into the security center with energon, brought to Earth by the new arrivals, for Prowl, Rewind, Perceptor and himself around noon. He approached the other Autobots and handed them each a cube, receiving grateful thanks from both Perceptor and Rewind. The silver mech took his place next to Prowl and handed his lover a cube. Prowl gave him a nod in thanks and, keeping his focus on the monitors, took a long sip from the cube.

"Any luck findin' those two?" Jazz asked.

Prowl shook his head. "They've kept under the radar. They must have some sort of block to hide their energy signatures. We've tried everything to try to catch even a hint of unknown signatures."

Jazz frowned and turned his head to the monitors. Beneath his visor, his optics studied the screen. Various satellite images of Tranquility and the surrounding areas were displayed on the monitor screen, with close-ups of each area flashing in a loop, switching every so often. Thanks to the humans' satellite imaging, as well as the Autobots' own carefully set up security net, they had surveillance throughout the city. If they were to pick up an energy signal from either Soundwave or Rumble, it would show up on the maps.

"Has anyone asked Barricade for their location?" Jazz asked.

"He won't say anything on the matter," Perceptor said, breaking away from his station. "In fact, he has not given us any information since he gave told us of the Decepticons' secondary team."

"Has Bumblebee talked t'him since then? Barricade seems willin' t'speak with him."

Prowl gave another shake of his head. "Bumblebee has refused to talk to Barricade for the last several Earth days."

Jazz stiffened, his optics narrowing beneath his visor. "Did somethin' happen?"

"I don't know," Prowl admitted. "Bumblebee won't say anything and we have no reason to accuse Barricade, other than the sheer fact that he was a Decepticon."

Jazz stayed silent, dropping that subject for the time being. He'd look into it later. For now, he turned back to the monitors. A close-up of the school that Sam and Mikaela attended flashed across one of the monitors for a few seconds and Jazz only just managed to catch a blip on the map.

"Whoa, whoa!" he exclaimed.

Prowl, Perceptor and Rewind looked up from their own monitors to look at the screen Jazz was focused on. The silver mech hit a key to pull the close-up of the school back onto the monitor and froze it on the screen. His optics went over the map again, searching every inch of the image for the blip he'd seen.

"What is it?" Prowl asked, moving closer to his lover and leaning towards the screen.

Jazz pointed to a spot on the map. "I saw somethin' right there."

Prowl and Perceptor studied the spot. After a few moments, Perceptor pulled back with a frown over his lips.

"I didn't see anything," he said. "But perhaps we should contact Bluestreak and have him do a full scan of the institute?"

Prowl nodded and went about doing so. Jazz gave a frown and studied the screen further. He was so certain that he'd seen something! It could have been a simple glitch in the surveillance system, but he had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Mikaela squeezed past a group of girls in the hallways on her way to meet up with Sam for lunch. The two of them were planning to meet up and take lunch outside to sit by Bluestreak for the forty-minute break. Miles would likely join them; he'd managed to finally get used to having Mikaela around. While Mikaela had once thought the blond teen to be one of those strange kids with a fascination for government conspiracies, but after sitting down and actually talking to him, she'd found Miles pretty interesting. She could see why he and Sam were best friends.

She spotted Sam and Miles hanging out by the door that led to the courtyard by the student parking lot and raised her arm to wave to them. As she did, her hand smacked against something hard. She turned her head to see a familiar face framed by black and blue-dyed hair. An embarrassed smile over her lips, she gave an apology to the other student.

"Sorry about that, Ryan," she said.

//It's okay,// Ryan signed to her. //Didn't hurt.//

"I was wondering when I was going to see you. I almost thought you weren't coming to this school after all."

//I've been around.//

Mikaela nodded. She glanced over to Sam and Miles, who were still waiting, then shifted her gaze back to Ryan. "Hey, I'm meeting up with some friends for lunch. Care to join us?"

A smile crossed Ryan's face. //Sure, if that's okay.//

"It'd be great," Mikaela smiled.

Beneath the guise of the hologram known as Ryan, Rumble gave a smile of his own. He was certain that Mikaela meant Samuel James Witwicky when she mentioned her friends. If he were to join them, it would make it just that much easier to get to both of them. He followed Mikaela through the halls, manipulating his hologram to walk with him so that his real body was carefully hidden as he made his way down the hall.

Sam looked over to Mikaela as she approached, then looked at Ryan. His eyes narrowed slightly at him before he looked at Mikaela. "What's he doing here?"

"Don't be rude," Mikaela replied. "I invited him to join us. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

Sam cast another glance at Ryan. He stepped closer to Mikaela and leaned in so his mouth was close to her ear. "I don't want him around," he told her. "I don't like him."

"Oh, don't even get like that, Sam," Mikaela said, glowering at her boyfriend. "He's a friend. I hang out with your friends; you can hang out with mine."

Miles looked at Ryan, then to his quarrelling friends. He turned back to the black and blue-haired boy. He shrugged, then gave a lop-sided grin. "Give 'em a minute," he said.

Rumble made his hologram shrug in return. Eventually, the small group made their way outside. The courtyard was full of other students, sitting around, eating, and chatting away. Sam and Mikaela led the way to a tree near the edge of the courtyard. A gray Nissan sat in the shade underneath it.

The group sat on the edge of a brick wall; the boundary between the campus and the road that went by. Miles dug into his backpack for his lunch while Sam and Mikaela sat together to eat their own lunches. Ryan sat apart from them, leaning back and bracing himself with his hands. At least, that's what the hologram did. Under the hologram cover, Rumble coded a signal and sent it to Soundwave over a highly privatized communication line.

Unbeknownst to Rumble, the Nissan parked not six feet way caught a blip of an energy signal in the moment Rumble's block was taken down to send the message. Bluestreak recognized the energy signal and sent out two messages; a warning and a call for back-up.

Mikaela pulled herself away from the conversation she'd been having with Sam to dig through her purse as her cellphone went off. Flipping the phone open, she saw the text-message that waited for her to read it. She glanced up from her phone to the nearby Nissan, then subtly elbowed Sam to show him the message:

_"Danger. Decepticon signal picked up next to you."_

Sam paled. He leaned in close to Mikaela, trying to look casual as he whispered to her. "What should we do?"

"What _can_ we do?" Mikaela whispered back. "We can't leave campus and Bluestreak can't transform in broad daylight, not to mention, in front of a whole high school."

"We have to do _somethi--_"

Sam was cut off by a loud squeal of tires. He looked up just in time to see a large, dark blue, almost black, Chevy truck pull into the student parking lot. His eyes widened as the truck sped towards them. He, Mikaela and Miles just barely managed to jump off the wall and run as Bluestreak moved to block the truck's way. Screams from some nearby girls filled the air over the sound of metal crunching against metal as the truck slammed into Bluestreak's back end.

Mikaela's hands lifted to her mouth in horror as she watched the scene. Her heart raced, her chest tightening. "_Bluestreak!"_

Metallic clicks sounded, metal shifted and the dark blue truck changed in front of the courtyard, prompting more students to scream and yell in panic. Many of them started to run out of the courtyard and back into the building. Miles tripped over his own feet, falling back as he watched the truck transform. Towering above the students, the robot glowered down at them, a glowing red visor over his optics.

Mikaela made to run over to Bluestreak, but arms grabbed her from behind. She turned to face who she thought was Sam, trying to stop her. However, it hadn't been Sam who'd grabbed her. A yelp escaped her as Ryan disappeared and she found herself face-to-face with a small robot, not unlike the one that had attacked her and Sam at the factory last year, when they'd first gotten involved with the Autobots and the Decepticons.

"Let me go!" she cried, swinging her bag into the face of the robot.

Rumble paid little heed to the bag that Mikaela hit him with. His thin, skeletal fingers tightened around the girl's arm and he knocked her down with ease. Mikaela let out a sharp cry as she landed on the hard pavement, scrapping her hands and knees.

"Mikaela!" Sam shouted. He ran over to help her, but was stopped when the larger Decepticon stepped in front of him.

Soundwave reached down, grabbing Sam and picking him up like he was a rag doll. His visor gleamed and his mouth opened, a string of Cybertronian reaching Sam's ears. The alien words changed into English as Soundwave spoke.

"You are Samuel James Witwicky," the Decepticon said. His voice had more of a mechanical sound than any of the other robots Sam had heard speak; it had a monotonous, reverberating sound, as if the robot was speaking through a vocoder. "Autobot ally and he who brought about Lord Megatron's destruction."

"So what if I am?" Sam demanded, attempting to sound brave in the face of danger.

The glow of Soundwave's visor intensified. "You are to be presented to Lord Starscream."

Sam struggled to get out of Soundwave's grip. He was not going to go anywhere with this Decepticon, especially not to Starscream. A sudden impact caused Soundwave to drop Sam and the boy fell to the ground. Though the drop had hurt him, Sam managed to push himself up. He looked towards Soundwave and saw Bluestreak fighting the much larger mech.

"Sam!"

Sam turned to see Miles as the other teen helped him up. "What are you still doing here?" he demanded.

"Saving your ass from alien robots!" Miles replied. "What does it look like?!"

"What about Mikaela?"

"Your female friend is injured, but she is safe inside the building," a light feminine voice answered before Miles could.

Sam looked up to see Arcee standing over him. Beyond her, he saw Rewind wrestling the small Decepticon that had grabbed Mikaela. It seemed the two of them had been close enough to the school to respond to the incident quickly.

"Are you alright, Samuel?" Arcee asked.

"I've been better," Sam replied.

"Run, if you can, Samuel," Arcee told him. "Find shelter. Bumblebee is on en-route." That said, she ran over to help Bluestreak.

Sam turned to Miles. "C'mon!" He gestured over his shoulder towards the school. "We gotta get Mikaela and get out of here!"

"I want to know how these guys know who you are and what that thing wants with you," Miles said, nodding towards the Decepticon that Arcee and Bluestreak were fighting as he and Sam ran towards the school building.

"It's a long story," Sam replied. He looked ahead and spotted Mikaela inside the school. He ran through the door and up to his girlfriend. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Mikaela replied. "What about Bluestreak? Is he okay?"

"He's fighting the Decepticon," Sam told her. "C'mon, let's go!"

"We're just going to leave them out there?" Mikaela demanded.

"What else can we do? We're just kids! We don't have weapons to help the others and we can't fight them barehanded! Help's on the way, let's just get out of here!"

Mikaela let out a shriek as Arcee crashed through the windows of the hallway overlooking the courtyard. The black and pink Autobot slammed against the lockers on the wall and groaned in pain. She shook her head for a moment, then got back up. She shot the three teenagers a look.

"You must get out of here," she told them. "It's too dangerous for you."

With that, she transformed into her motorbike alt mode and zipped towards Soundwave, popping up onto her back tire as she approached him. She transformed back into robot mode and leapt towards the Decepticon, shifting to call up her cannon. She brought it in front of her and shot a blast towards Soundwave. The blast glanced off the Decepticon and he turned, shooting a blast of his own from his shoulder-mounted cannon, hitting Arcee in the torso.

"Arcee!" Bluestreak shouted as the femme fell to the ground.

Arcee struggled to get back up. "Bluestreak, you must draw him away from the humans!"

"I can't leave you behind!"

"Just go!"

Bluestreak hesitated for a moment. He nodded and transformed, nearly spinning out as his tired made contact with the road. Soundwave glanced towards where Rumble had been wrestling the other compact. Rewind was slumped on the ground and Rumble stood over him, sure of his victory.

"Rumble, go after the humans," Soundwave ordered. After Rumble nodded and ran towards the building, the larger Decepticon transformed and headed off after Bluestreak.

* * *

"I've got a lock on Bluestreak," Sideswipe said as he raced down the roads from the hills and into town. "He's on the freeway heading east. Soundwave's right behind him."

"Then we'll head that way," Sunstreaker replied, picking up speed and pulling ahead of his brother.

Prowl and Ratchet followed closely behind the twins, sirens screeching and lights flashing wildly. The four of them were just reaching the entrance to the main freeway when Bluestreak sped by. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe sped down the entrance ramp, narrowly missing an impact with a dark Chevrolet truck that shot after the Autobot gunner. Sideswipe's sensors went off on high alert as he picked up the Decepticon signal from the truck and he accelerated.

"That's him!" he growled over the open communication line to his brother and the others.

Sunstreaker snarled. "Let's take him down!"

The yellow twin shot past his brother and, swerving his way past human drivers, sped after Soundwave. Before Prowl could protest the recklessness of doing this, Sideswipe followed his brother's example. Given no choice, Prowl and Ratchet sped to catch up. Human drivers pulled to the side of the freeway upon hearing the sirens from the two emergency vehicles, which made the chase easier on their part.

"Bluestreak!" Prowl called over the communication line. "We're coming up behind you! Get Soundwave off the freeway and away from the humans! Enough humans have seen our kind today!"

Though Bluestreak did not send a reply back, Prowl was relieved when he saw the Nissan pull off the freeway, up an exit ramp and away from the city. Soundwave followed, as did Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. Cars at the intersection at the end of the exit ramp squealed to stops, just barely avoiding collisions as the two Lamborghinis shot through a red light to keep the chase.

The chase continued for nearly a half-hour before Soundwave grew annoyed and transformed in the middle of the road that winded through the countryside between Tranquility and its neighboring city. Before the Decepticon was fully transformed, Sunstreaker shifted to his own robot mode and tackled the Decepticon. Soundwave toppled, crashing into the asphalt with a metallic scrape and the hiss of hydraulics. While the road was relatively free of human drivers, the few cars with human passengers skidded to a stop. Many of them were quickly diverted and headed back the way they came.

As Soundwave was sufficiently distracted by the yellow twin, Bluestreak slammed on his breaks, spinning out and transforming as he did. He saw Sideswipe join Sunstreaker in fighting Soundwave and Prowl and Ratchet coming up the road behind them. The grey mech pulled out his weapon and ran towards trio of wrestling Cybertronians.

Soundwave let loose a barrage of blasts from his shoulder-mounted cannon, knocking Sideswipe off him. He got his hands on Sunstreaker and flung the yellow-armored mech to the side. Sunstreaker collided with Bluestreak, knocking the other Autobot to the ground where the two of them crumpled into a pile. Before either Sunstreaker or Bluestreak could push themselves back, and before Sideswipe could lunge at him again, Soundwave shot off another round of blasts to keep them at bay, then transformed. He sped off down the road at top speed, leaving them behind.

Ratchet and Prowl stopped as they reached the three fighters. Prowl went over to Sunstreaker and Bluestreak to help them up. Sunstreaker gave a groan of pain as he stood up. He brushed himself off and glared down at his scratched, chipped and dented armor. A snarl escaped him.

"Slag it, it's going to take forever to get this armor back in shape," he muttered.

"Forget your armor for a minute, Sunny," Sideswipe retorted as he pushed himself up. "Soundwave got away." The red twin stood and stumbled over to Bluestreak, checking him over before pulling the grey mech to him in a one-armed hug. "Glad you're alright, Blue."

"Thanks, Sideswipe," Bluestreak grinned. "If you guys hadn't come, I don't know what I'd have done. I couldn't have taken him on my own."

Ratchet stepped over, pulling Sideswipe away from Bluestreak so he could scan the gunner for injuries sustained during the first fight. After a moment, he gave a nod, deeming the young Autobot in good enough condition that he wasn't forced to do any repairs on site.

"We should head back to the base," Prowl said, approaching his fellow Autobots. "I've got confirmation from Bumblebee that Sam and Mikaela are safe and Rumble contained." He turned to Ratchet. "First Aid's carrying Rewind back. He's sustained a lot of damage."

Ratchet heaved a sigh. "Blaster will not be happy with us when he finds out about this." He transformed and revved his engine. "Come on, let's go."

Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Bluestreak and Prowl all transformed and the group headed back down the road. Soundwave may have gotten away, but with Rumble in custody, they would have one more advantage above the Decepticons. Now they had to worry about getting back to the base without drawing more attention to themselves. They would have enough of a hard time explaining themselves to Optimus Prime because of the situation that had occurred at the high school.

_**

* * *

**_

_**Author's Note: **__Fight scenes are not my forte. ;_; Anyways, yeah. The Autobots won't be able to hide in plain sight much longer, now that a whole school of teenagers have seen them. Not to mention all those innocent human drivers. XD;;_


	10. Chapter X

_**Author's Note: **__Apologies for the wait. With all the court dealings and meetings with my lawyers, I haven't had much time to just sit down and fight writer's block, much less write. Now that my trial's over, here's hoping I can get back in gear.  
**Warnings:**__ And the plot thickens. Introducing more Decepticons and focusing on the humans quite a bit this chapter. Setting up for future chapters.  
**Disclaimer: **__The author is currently out of witty disclaimers. Please check again next chapter._

_**Revenge of the Fallen Disclaimer: **__You may spot some similarities between this and RoTF, but I am not intentionally slipping in major spoilers. I am __**not**__ rewriting anything to make this fanfic fit in with the sequel. _

Chapter Ten

Upon entering the temporary base that Soundwave and Rumble had set up upon their arrival several months ago, the large Decepticon communications officer transformed into his robot mode and slammed a fist into the rock wall of the desolate cavern. The impact caused several bits of the ceiling to fall to the floor, some hitting Soundwave, more hitting the equipment that he'd set up long ago to track the Autobots. The Decepticon paid no heed to the rubble that fell over his armor, his processor occupied with that day's defeat.

There was a soft, amused laugh from another part of the cavern. "Never seen you lose your cool, Soundwave."

Soundwave looked up, his face showing no sign of his surprise at the presence of another. His optics, shielded by his visor, settled on the tall, slender form of a femme, leaning against a piece of equipment. At first glance, the femme looked to be the young Autobot known as Arcee, but she was someone completely different; where the Autobot femme was mostly pink and black, this femme was black and red with purple accents and flame decals painted delicately over her hips.

"Flamewar."

The femme smirked, pushing herself away from the equipment she'd been leaning against. "Reporting in, sir," she said, giving a salute.

Soundwave gave an acknowledging nod. "Did you find what we needed?"

Flamewar's arm dropped to her side. "I have. It took me longer than I'd anticipated. Since Frenzy's intrusion into their network, they've upped their security using codes from the Autobots." The black femme walked over to one of the computers Soundwave and Rumble had set up. She had transferred the data she'd collected a while ago, while Soundwave was out. "The disbanded group called Sector Seven had quite the extensive knowledge of our kind."

"I am aware of that," Soundwave told her. "Show me the data pertaining to Lord Megatron."

Flamewar pulled up the stolen information on the monitors for Soundwave to review. The glowing of the screen reflected off the dark mech's visor as he studied the information. He disregarded the data concerning the humans' use of Decepticon technology to further their own sciences and their understanding of the Allspark's power--none of it was anything he hadn't known of the cube. What mattered to him was what had happened to his leader during and after the last battle between him and the Autobots.

"Did you find any reports on exactly how the flesh creature deactivated Lord Megatron?" he asked.

Flamewar nodded and brought the data up on display. "According to the reports, the fleshling somehow activated the Allspark and used it to overload Lord Megatron's very spark, causing a complete systematic shutdown and extinguishing his spark."

Soundwave's visor flashed briefly. He gave no other indication of his anger at such a weak creature besting the supreme leader of the Decepticons. As he looked over the data Flamewar had brought, he worked on how to use such data for their own causes. Mere seconds passed before a thought struck him.

"Flamewar, what did the Autobots and their pets do with Lord Megatron's body?"

Flamewar looked up at her commanding officer and arched an optic ridge. "Records indicate that they took his body, and those of our fallen comrades, to a location in the ocean called the Laurentian Abyss. Why?"

"Send a message to Blitzwing and Astrotrain," Soundwave ordered. "We will be requiring their assistance retrieving Lord Megatron's body."

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Flamewar said, stepping away from the computer. "Lord Megatron is fallen; we cannot bring him back."

Soundwave turned to her, his visor glowing brightly. "We cannot. The Allspark can. The piece of the Allspark that the Autobots retrieved has been regenerating. They used its remaining power to revive one of their own."

Realization dawned on Flamewar. "When the fleshling used the Allspark to defeat Lord Megatron, part of the Cube became one with his spark, thus overloading it. It wouldn't be impossible that the Allspark piece that overloaded Lord Megatron's spark would be regenerating, as the Autobots' piece has."

"Exactly," Soundwave told her.

* * *

Ratchet and First Aid had their hands full repairing the injuries sustained during the fight with Soundwave, leaving those with minor dents and scrapes to report to Optimus Prime on the incident. While Ratchet worked on the heavily damaged Rewind, Mikaela took it upon herself to assist First Aid with Arcee and Bluestreak. While her mechanical knowledge and skills were nowhere near the level of the white and red medic, particularly when it came to vehicles that were really alien robots, she wanted to be of use.

First Aid took care of the major damage that Arcee had sustained, making sure the femme's circuits were in good condition and her energon lines were no longer leaking. He'd reassured Mikaela as he worked that the minor injuries Arcee had would be taken care of by her self-repair systems. Still determined to help, the girl offered to help with the surface repairs, reconnecting components and cleaning dried energon out of the femme's joints. Thankful for the offer, First Aid accepted Mikaela's help.

After retrieving the bag of tools she owned, having brought them to the base months ago while they were building the medical bay, Mikaela went to work. As she worked, she asked First Aid if he and Ratchet would teach her more about the Cybertronian body and how it worked. The younger medic was happy to explain the workings of the complex systems while they repaired Arcee.

Miles and Sam had been watching them work for a while, with Sam feeling guilty about the injuries the Autobots had received saving their lives. Miles was a little less guilty and more curious about the alien robots. He watched as Mikaela cleaned Arcee's body of dried energon and leaned towards Sam.

"Your girlfriend's working on a female robot," he told his friend in a nonchalant tone. "That's kind of hot."

Mikaela, having overheard the blond, promptly got down from the platform where Arcee was laying and threw both boys out of the medical bay, much to Ratchet's amusement and Sam's disappointment; Miles'd had a point. Since the two had nothing better to do, Sam led Miles on a bit of a tour around the base.

Since Mikaela was working with the medics, it was up to Sam to explain things to Miles. Bumblebee had brought Miles to the base on the blond boy's insistence. Sam had agreed that his friend be brought in on their secret, since Miles now knew of the Autobots' existence and the true identity of Sam's car. With little choice, Bumblebee allowed Miles to climb into his cab for the ride to the Autobot base.

Cliffjumper, who had arrived with Bumblebee to the high school, had brought Rumble into the base to be held and questioned. The Decepticon compact had been tightly restrained in stasis cuffs and as many seat belts as Sam could get around the small robot in the back seat of Cliffjumper's alt-mode. When they'd reached the base, it took Sam and Miles both to get the struggling Decepticon out of Cliffjumper's cab so the red Autobot could transform to take him away.

"So, how long have you known about these guys?" Miles asked as he watched Cliffjumper transform to his full height.

Sam gave an awkward shrug. "Since the second night I had Bumblebee and still thought he was just a car."

Miles gave a nod. "Is that what that whole 'Satan's Camaro' call was about, then?"

"Pretty much," Sam replied. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at Miles; his friend was taking this awfully calmly. He thought for sure that Miles would have a spaz attack when he found out about the Autobots, but the blond boy was acting like it was something that happened every day. "C'mon, you'll have to meet Optimus."

"Who?"

"The Autobot leader." Sam put his hand on Miles' shoulder and tilted his head in the direction of Optimus' office. "Follow me. I'll explain a bit on the way."

Miles gave a shrug and went with his friend down the massive hallways of the Autobot base. As the two of them walked, Sam explained how he and Mikaela had become involved in the war between the Autobots and the Decepticons. He told Miles of the Allspark, what it did and what had become of it, at which point Miles recalled how Sam had come home with bandages all over his hands and a pitiful excuse of burning his hands in a fire. Eventually Sam came to speak of the current events.

"So, the big scary guy that attacked us at school? He's a Decepticon?" Miles asked.

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "He's apparently been around for a while. I remember Sunstreaker and Sideswipe mentioning something about Soundwave at the beginning of summer."

Miles gave a frown. "And Ryan was actually that Rumble thing we brought back with us."

"I knew there was a reason I didn't like him."

The blond teen looked at his friend. "Can all of them do that? Use holograms to look like us?"

"Well, not everyone does it, but they can," Sam replied. "The Autobots usually only use holograms to make it look like there's actually someone driving them when they're in vehicle mode."

"Cool," Miles said, giving a grin.

Sam continued to lead the way to Optimus' office. He'd been to the Autobot leader's office a number of times, but he still sometimes got turned around in the base. The hallways were so huge to humans and it was hard for Sam to see the etchings next to the doors that indicated what room they were standing outside. It didn't help that the etchings were in the elegant Cybertronian script, but he'd at least memorized what etchings were outside of Optimus' office. It took a little while, but eventually he found the room.

Sam poked his head through the open door. "Optimus?"

The Autobot leader sat at his desk, holding a stylus in one hand to write on the datapad he held in front of him. He looked up and smiled at Sam. "Come in, Samuel. I've been waiting for you."

"Ah, yeah," Sam said. "I still get turned around coming through here." He stepped inside and gestured for Miles to follow. "I brought Miles with me."

Miles stepped inside. He had to crane his neck to properly look up at Optimus and his eyes widened in awe upon seeing the red and blue robot. Where Miles had been pretty cool with Bumblebee and Cliffjumper upon meeting them, he felt small and intimidated by the Autobot leader. That feeling of intimidation increased as Optimus stood from his desk and approached the two teenagers.

"Hello, Miles, friend of Samuel," the Autobot leader greeted.

Miles' mouth opened and closed a couple times, but no words came forth. He had been able to tell that Optimus was tall, but now as the red and blue armored mech crouched down to be at eye-level with him, Miles was finding himself strained to keep from panicking. He eventually managed a rather squeaky greeting in return, which had Sam cracking up.

"Um, Optimus," the brown-haired teen managed between his laughter. "You might want to back up a bit. You're scaring my friend."

Optimus gave a chuckle of his own and moved away. "Apologies, Miles. I did not intend to frighten you."

Miles gave a timid nod. "S'okay," he replied. He leaned sideways towards Sam and spoke to him in a whisper. "You didn't tell me they got so big."

"They get bigger," Sam grinned.

Miles' eyes widened again and he paled. Sam snickered.

* * *

Later in the evening, Optimus Prime called his Autobots to the base's briefing room for a meeting. He had called Ironhide and Chromia from the Lennox household, requesting that they bring the human family along, as he felt that what he planned to discuss involved the three of them as well. He'd also asked Bumblebee to fetch Ron and Judy Witwicky.

Sam, Mikaela and Miles had remained on the base after the attack on their high school. Now that the Decepticons had openly attacked Sam and Mikaela, Optimus felt they would be safer staying with the Autobots. Miles had likely become a target as well; knowing the tactics of the Decepticons, Optimus believed that they might use the blond teenager to draw Sam out in the open. It took a bit of convincing, but Miles eventually agreed to stay on the base, where he would be protected.

"What am I going to tell my uncle?" Miles asked. "I have to call him and let him know where I am."

"Just tell him you're at my place," Sam suggested.

Miles looked at him. "You know that'll only work so long. If I'm staying here, I have to go get Mason. I'm not going to leave him there."

"Who's Mason?" Rodimus asked from his spot a few feet from the two humans.

"He's my dog," Miles replied. "I've had him since he was a puppy. He's my best friend."

Sam gave Miles a hurt look. "I thought I was your best friend."

"Dude, we met freshman year. I've had Mason since I was in middle school."

"Oh," Sam mumbled, dropping the subject.

Rodimus crouched down to address Miles. "Hey, the meeting won't start until everyone gets here and Ironhide and Chromia are still en route. I'll take you to get your dog."

Miles lifted an eyebrow. "You will?"

"Sure!" Rodimus nodded.

He transformed right there in the hallway. The various parts of his body shifted to form his vehicle mode and as he revealed his Ferrari alt mode, Miles gave a whistle of approval. Rodimus popped his driver's side door open for blond teenager to hop in.

"Man, I can't come home in a Ferrari!" Miles protested. "My uncle will think I stole it!"

Sam pushed Miles towards Rodimus. "Just go and have him park a block away from your house. Tell your uncle you're bringing Mason to my house."

Before Miles could protest any further, Sam gave him another shove into Rodimus' cab. Rodimus shut the door and revved his engine. Miles fumbled with the seat belt for a moment before he managed to click it in place and Rodimus sped off, leaving Sam behind in the hallway.

After Miles and Rodimus left, Sam went into the base's recreation room to wait for them to return. He walked over to the human-sized couch that rested in front of the large television that they'd brought in for the younger Autobots to enjoy. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were watching one of the movies that Sam had brought in. Bluestreak was caught between them on the specially crafted Autobot-sized couch, but he wasn't paying any attention to the movie; he was recharging lightly, head rested on Sunstreaker's shoulder and one hand tangled with Sideswipe's.

"How's Bluestreak?" Sam asked, remembering the injuries that the gray Nissan had taken during Soundwave's attack.

Sideswipe looked over at Sam. "He's recovering. First Aid took good care of him."

"That's good to hear."

Sideswipe nodded and returned his gaze to the movie. Sam flopped down on the couch to enjoy the remainder of the movie with the Autobots. Just as the end credits began to roll up the screen, Sam heard a loud, resounding bark and he knew that Miles and Rodimus had returned with Mason. The mastiff had already gotten away from his owner and was running down the hallways of the base, unfazed by the towering robots that poked their heads out of various rooms at the sounds of the large dog making his way through the base.

Mason's barking woke Bluestreak and the confused young Autobot looked around, unsure where the sound was coming from. He heard Miles shouting for Mason to quiet down and shrugged it off. He stretched off the stiffness in his joints from sleeping in a sitting position, then curled up against Sunstreaker, ready to go back into recharge.

Unfortunately for Bluestreak, Prowl came in just then to announce that Ironhide and Chromia had finally arrived with the Lennox family, so the meeting was ready to start. Bluestreak gave a small pout of disappointment, but got up off the couch to follow Prowl to the meeting. Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Sam got out of their respective seats and followed as well.

The meeting started as soon as everyone was gathered. The only Autobots unable to attend the meeting were Ratchet, Rewind, and Arcee; Ratchet was still working diligently on the heavily damaged Rewind and Arcee's leg had been too badly damaged for her to walk. Those three would be briefed later, but in the meantime, Optimus stood in front of the gathered attendants. The Autobots sat around a large metal table in the room while the humans were seated in chairs set on a platform that allowed them to see the Autobot leader.

"This afternoon's attack is a sign of what is yet to come," Optimus began. "The war continues, even with Megatron out of the picture. We know that Starscream is returning to Earth with reinforcements and that they have made both Sam and Mikaela targets of interest. We must protect them and those who the Decepticons may use to trap them."

Several pairs of glowing blue optics focused on the humans seated on the platform. Judy was gripping her husband's arm anxiously and Ron was looking at the Autobot leader with an expression of concern on his face. Sam and Mikaela were seated next to each other, their hands entwined as they listened to Optimus. Miles sat near them and the Lennox family was next to him, Sarah holding Annabelle close to her.

"What do you propose, Optimus?" Will asked, putting his arm protectively around his wife.

"I feel that Sam and Mikaela would be safest on the base with us," Optimus told him. "Ron, Judy and Miles as well. We cannot risk the Decepticons capturing any of you. Of course, this applies to your family as well, Captain Lennox."

Sarah looked at Will, worry in her eyes. "We have Ironhide and Chromia protecting us already. Aren't they enough?"

"They very well may be," Prowl spoke up from his seat. "We are merely offering a choice. Staying on the base would be logical, with the security we can provide."

Judy shook her head. "I can't do it. I'm not staying holed up on some base, waiting for word that it's safe to go out again. That's asking too much."

"Mom, you heard what Optimus said," Sam told her. "The Decepticons might try to use you to get to me." He reached over to put his hand on his mother's shoulder. "I don't want you or Dad to get hurt."

"Sammy, I can't live on a base filled with these robots!" Judy protested. "Just one of them makes me nervous! You _can't_ expect me to stay here!"

"Judy," Ron interjected.

"No, Ron!" the anxious woman exclaimed. "No, I _can't_ and _won't_! We'll leave town, find somewhere safe."

"There may not be anywhere safe," Prowl told her.

With that comment, Judy quieted down, still upset. She leaned against her husband, who put his arms around her, as if to guard her. The meeting continued, with the Autobots discussing tactics to protect the humans they'd come to respect and think of their own. Captain Lennox spoke with Optimus Prime, Prowl and Ironhide about the allegiance the Autobots had with the American government; as liaison between the Autobots and the government, it was his job to make sure their connection was secure.

It was late in the evening when the meeting finally ended. Ironhide was staying on base for a little while longer, so Chromia took it upon herself to take the Lennox family home. She could handle things at the household, should any Decepticons decide to make a move on that front. Sam convinced his parents to stay at the base for the night, despite how adverse Judy had been to the idea. Mikaela and Miles, of course, stayed, being targets now. The five humans, plus the dog, were staying in one of the rooms that had been converted for human visitors, since Sam and Mikaela, sometimes Lennox or Epps (who was currently on vacation with his own family) would spend the night on base when they stayed too late to go home.

"I really, _really_ don't like the idea of staying here," Judy muttered, curling up in the bed next to her husband. "Even if they think the Deceptitrons or whatever they are might come for us."

"I know," Ron said. "Tomorrow, we'll talk to that Optimus guy about someplace we can go to hide."

"I don't want to leave Sammy here to be caught, either!" Judy protested.

Ron nodded. "Yes, I know. I don't like the idea, either, but he's a grown boy, Judy."

Judy's eyes teared up. "Not Sam," she replied. "Not my little Sammy." She heaved a sigh, closed her eyes and put her arms around her husband.

Tomorrow was the beginning of the greatest change in their lives.

_**Author's Note: **__Okay, there we go. Before I start on the next chapter, I have a request of you, my dear readers: I need at least three more Decepticons for Starscream's group coming to Earth and I can't decide who to bring in. If there's a particular Decepticon you want to see, I'm open to suggestions. I have Skywarp, Thundercracker and Shockwave coming with him at the moment. Leave your suggestion in a review. Thank you!_


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